.*" 






.^^^' -^'r 




Aunt Kate begins the story. 



THE 

STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 
AS AUNT KATE TOLD IT 

BY 

KATE E. CARPENTER 



ILLUSTRATED BY AMY BROOKS AND FROM 
FAMOUS PAINTINGS 






BOSTON 
LEE AND SHEPARD 

1902 



rTHF"LlBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

JUL 24 1902 

Copyright entsv 

CLASS ^ XXo. No. 
^ t C^ (\ L 
COPY 8. 



COPYKIGHT, 1902, BY LeE AND ShEPAKD. 

Published August, 1902. 



All nights neserved. 



Story op Joan of Arc for Boys and Girls. 



WortooolJ Press 

J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith 
Norwood Mass. U.S.A. 



c 



% 



;2L f ^ 



MY DEARLY LOVED NIECES AND NEPHEWS 

THIS BOOK IS INSCRIBED BY 

AUNT KATE 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

First Day 1 

Second Day . . . . . • . .33 

Third Day 71 

Fourth Day 110 

Fourth Day — continued 155 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Aunt Katp; begins thk Story . . Frontiapiece 



VKtiK 



Joan of Arc and St. Michakl. (From palrdinr/ 

by Bastien-Lepage) . . . . . .14 

Joan of Akc aikkting thk Spikits. (From 

paintiny hy Afai.llart) ...... 56 

Joan of Akc wounded. ( From pjaintiny hy A . de 

Neville) 00 

Cai'Tuke of Orleans. (From painting by Le- 

nepveu) . . . . . . . .114 

Victorious Return of .Joan of Arc to Or- 
leans. (From pjaintinf/ by Scherrer) . . 120 

Coronation of Charles VII at Rheims. (From 

painting by Lenepveu) . . . . . 140 

Last Moments of Joan of Arc. (From painting 

by Gabriel Max) 182 



STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

FIRST DAY 

'' A UNTIE, Auntie, hello ! Wait a 
"^-^ minute, please, till we come." 
Looking in the direction the shouts 
came from, I saw three merry-faced 
children bounding over the lawn 
toward me. Well I knew that my 
solitary ramble was over for that af- 
ternoon, and that I should be taken 
captive by the three dear tyrants. 
Who could resist their coaxing, plead- 
ing faces as they clustered about me 
and begged for a story? 



2 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

'' You tell such nice ones, Auntie," 
said Bessie, putting her arms around 
my waist, and smiling in her own 
winning way. 

" And if you will, I promise to be 
good for a whole w^eek." 

"Well, Harold, that is certainly 
worth a story. Now where shall we 
go? " 

" Out to the summer-house," came 
in a chorus. 

So, linking arms, we strolled over 
the beautful green slope to the sum- 
mer-house, w^hich did indeed look at- 
tractive, nestled among a clump of 
trees and with the babbling brook 
just below. 

"Well, my dears, what sort of a 
story shall it be? " 



FIRST DAY 3 

" A fairy tale. I like that kind 
best," suggested wee Marjorie, look- 
ing like a fairy herself, with her flaxen 
curls and eyes so blue. 

"But," objected Bessie, "Auntie 
told us about fairies the last time." 

"I have it," exclaimed Harold. 
" Don't you know a true story about 
some wonderful boy who went to the 
war and had lots of things happen to 
him ? " 

" I never saw such a boy as you 
are, Harold; you always want war 
stories." 

" Never mind, Bessie, he has given 
me an idea ; but instead of a wonder- 
ful boy, I shall tell you of a wonder- 
ful girl who went to the war and had 
lots of things happen to her." 



4 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

"Then it won't be a true story/' 
objected Harold ; " for girls don't go 
to war, only as nurses." 

" The one I shall talk about did, 
and not as a nurse, but as a leader 
of an army. Before I begin I wish, 
Harold, you would go back to the 
library and get the atlas and bring it 
here, so that we may find the places I 
shall mention on the map. That will 
help you to remember them." 

"All right. Auntie,' but please don't 
tell the girls anything while I'm gone. 
I wish it was going to be about a 
boy, though; I don't like girl stories 
much." 

Off he went, whistling and turning 
a somersault every once in a while, 
which made us laugh as we watched 



FIRST DAY 5 

him. Hurrying back as fast as the 
big book he carried would allow, he 
had just breath enough left to say : — 

"Here it' is, Auntie. Now go ahead." 

"Thank you, dear; you did your 
errand very quickly." 

I put the atlas on the rustic table, 
open at the map of France. We drew 
our chairs around it, and I began. 

"A great many years ago, as far 
back as the year 1400, England and 
France were at war with each other. 
The king of France, Charles YI, was 
crazy, and was kept shut up by his 
relatives, who tried to govern in his 
place. But they quarrelled so much 
among themselves and thought only 
of getting all the money they could 
out of the people, that the country 



6 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

was just going to destruction, and 
England, taking advantage of the situ- 
ation, was sending her armies over to 
France and doing her best to conquer 
the entire country. And, strange to 
say, there were some among the French 
who were traitors to their king, and 
who really wanted the invaders to 
succeed ! Many parts of France fell 
into their hands, and as the years 
went by it seemed as though all must 
be lost. The poor, loyal people were 
in despair ; there seemed no possible 
help for them. 

''King Charles had a son, also named 
Charles, who ought to have tried to 
save his country, but he was too in- 
dolent and selfish to care ; so he took 
himself off to a province where he 



FIRST DAY 7 

might be safe for a while, and where 
he had a castle, and there, with a few 
favored ones, he held his little court 
and enjoyed himself, while his still 
faithful subjects were doing all they 
could to drive his and their own 
enemies away. They were in a sad 
condition, and it seemed almost use- 
less to make any further resistance." 

"Couldn't the people go to the 
castle and make him come out and 
help them? " 

"No, Bessie; kings and princes at 
that early day did about as they 
pleased." 

"Now let us find Domremy. It is 
such a small place we will have to 
look very close to find it. Here it is, 
near the border-land between France 



8 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

and Germany. In the year 1412 a 
little girl was born tliere whose name 
was Joan of Arc. Her parents were 
peasants, that is, just simple country 
people. 

"When Joan was old enough her 
mother taught her to sew and to knit, 
and also to make herself useful about 
the house ; but besides helping her 
mother she often watched the sheep 
out in the fields, for her father was a 
shepherd. So you see she was a busy 
little girl." 

"Didn't she have any sisters and 
brothers to play with? " 

"Yes, Marjorie; there were two 
brothers and a sister in the family, 
and they had many good times play- 
ing together, I am sure. I know 



FIRST DAY 9 

you will be surprised when I tell 
you that Joan knew nothing what- 
ever about books. She never even 
learned to read and write." 

" Why didn't her mamma send her 
to school? " 

'' For one reason, Bessie, there 
were no i)ublic schools such as we 
have in these days, and besides, the 
people did not value an education 
as much as we do now, especially 
in the poorer classes. 

"Joan's home was on the main 
road, and it was the habit of the 
neighbors to gather there in the 
evenings, and sitting beside the open 
fireplace, to chat and gossip with 
her parents. Scarcely an evening 
passed that they did not talk about 



10 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

the cruel war. The little girl, sew- 
ing or knitting over in the corner, 
listened to many a tale of suffering 
and misery ; and very often men 
escaping from the enemy would come 
and beg for food and shelter, and 
would talk late in the night of how 
the English were taking their coun- 
try from them ! 

'' Many, many times the tender- 
hearted child would leave the room 
in tears, and, going up to her own 
little attic room, throw herself down 
on her knees and beseech God to send 
deliverance to them soon." 

" She was a good little girl, wasn't 
she. Auntie? " 

" Yes, indeed, dearie, she was, good 
and kind. 



FIRST DAY 11 

" She loved to go to cliurcli much 
more than most children do. The 
little church was so near her home 
she could go there very often ; and 
when her friends missed her they 
were pretty sure to find her in the 
house of God, on her knees, praying. 
She grew very sad and thoughtful, 
and did not care so much about play 
now. Her brothers and the boys of 
the other villages often played at 
war, taking sides and having sham 
battles." 

" That was fun, too. Auntie, I 
know, for I have often done that." 

''It was too real for Joan; she 
never could bear to see them. She 
did not like even play fighting." 

" I don't either. Aunt Kate ; I don't 



12 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

see any fun in making believe kill 
each other," said Bessie. 

"That's because you're a girl and 
don't understand such things," re- 
torted Harold. 

" One day word came to Domremy 
that some of their own countrymen 
who were on the side of the English 
were on their way there. Oh ! how 
the dreadful news frightened the 
poor simple folk ! The terrified 
farmers hurried about and got all 
their cattle together as quickly as 
they could, and bundled their wives 
and little children into wagons, and 
those who had no wagons had to 
walk, and fled as fast as possible to 
another town where they could be 
better protected from the. invaders. 



FIRST BAY 13 

They dreaded their own people quite 
as much as they did the English, for 
they were every bit as cruel." 

"Why didn't they stay and fight 
it out, and not run away like that?" 
exclaimed Harold, scornfully. 

"Because, you fierce boy, the spirit 
of the people was almost broken, they 
had suffered for so many years; and 
there seemed nothing left to do now 
but run away whenever they got .the 
chance. When it was certain that 
the foe had marched away the vil- 
lagers returned. But, alas! what 
did they find? Most of their once 
comfortable little homes in ashes ! 
and those that were not destroyed, 
stripped of everything left in them 
when their poor owners fled ! Dom- 



14 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

re my liad never before been visited 
by the enemy, and so had escaped 
the real -horrors of war; but now 
the little village was in ruins ! Joan 
needed no one to tell her what war 
meant, for now she knew some of 
its terrors. She became sadder than 
ever, and her prayers were almost 
constant. Though only a child, she 
felt that the poor country was beyond 
all human helj), and that unless God 
came to their relief all would indeed 
be lost." 

"You said, Auntie, that she went 
to the war? " 

" So she did, but not just yet. Be 
patient, Harold, and I will come to 
that." 

" All right, Aunt Kate, I'll be 
good." 



FIRST DAY 15 

'' Now I must tell you of a very 
strange experience Joan had wlien 
she was about twelve years old. She 
was out in the garden all alone, when 
suddenly a bright light shone on the 
side of her little church. She looked 
at it in wonder. What could it 
mean ? Then she heard a voice tell- 
ing her to be a good girl and to 
keep on going to church. Here was 
a mystery indeed! Where did the 
voice come from? Could any one 
have come into the garden? She 
looked about to see, but, no, she was 
still alone. The strange light ! That 
must be where the voice came from. 
And if so, God must have spoken to 
her. Yes, it must be that she had 
listened to the voice of her Heavenly 



16 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

Father, and He had been in the 
wonderful light." 

"Goodness! what did she do? 
Wasn't she dreadfully frightened?" 
asked Bessie, her eyes big with ex- 
citement. 

" I can tell you what she did ; she 
ran home just as fast as she could," 
broke in Harold. 

" You are mistaken, my boy, for she 
did nothing of the kind. She was 
startled, of course, but she felt no 
fear. Believing, as she did, that it 
was the voice of God she had heard, 
she had no cause to fear. She longed 
to hear it again." 

" I suppose she went home and told 
her mamma." 

" No, Marjorie, it was all too strange 



FIRST BAT 17 

and beautiful ; she told no one. But 
she thought often about it and con- 
tinued to pray for the help they so 
much needed." 

"Did she ever hear the voice 
again? " 

" Oh, yes, very often. It told her 
that great things would happen some 
day, and to be of good cheer, for the 
Lord had not deserted them. 

" But a day came when something 
even more wonderful than that oc- 
curred. Again when she was alone, 
but this time out in the fields looking 
after her father's sheep, she thought 
she heard her mother calling. She 
hurried back to the house, and was 
very much surprised when her mother 
told her she had not wanted her. She 



18 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

was returning to tlie fields, when right 
before her appeared a strange white 
mist. She had never seen anything 
like it before. She stood still watch- 
ing it, when gradually the mist cleared 
away, and behold ! there were three 
figures, one a man, who appeared 
to be a soldier. In his right hand he 
held a great sword, while beside him 
stood two beautiful angels with bright 
crowns on their heads. How lovely 
and good they looked to the eyes of 
the astonished girl ! Would they say 
anything to her? Yes, the warlike 
figure is speaking. He tells her that 
he is St. Michael and that the two 
angels are St. Catherine and St. Mar- 
garet, and that they have come to bid 
her always to trust in God, for He had 



FIRST DAY 19 

heard her prayers, and would, in His 
own good time, deliver them all from 
the hands of their cruel oppressors." 

" Aunt Kate, you are telling a 
fairy story, after all." 

'' No, my dear, I am simply relating 
what a very truthful girl said in after 
years that she had seen and heard." 

'' I guess, then, you can't say she 
was not frightened this time." 

" Yes, I can, Bessie, for instead of 
being frightened she was greatly com- 
forted, and longed for the good angels 
to take her away with them. 

" It was very different in those early 
days, my dear. The people were ex- 
tremely superstitious, — that is, they 
believed in all sorts of signs, and 
thought that both good and evil spir- 



20 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

its visited the earth, and they even 
believed that witches roamed about 
who had the power to do all sorts of 
mischief. And fairies, too ; they be- 
lieved in them. 

'' Why, there was a large old beech 
tree at the edge of a forest near Dom- 
remy where the fairies were supposed 
to dance and frolic about. The old 
folks used to tell the little children 
how, once upon a time, a noble knight 
had dared to meet an elfin lady under 
the shadow of its great, dark boughs. 
On certain festival days the girl§ and 
the boys of the village would gather 
at the famous tree, which they called 
the ' Fairies' Tree,' and hang it with 
garlands of flowers, and dance and 
sing about it. So you see, dear, a 



FIRST BAY 21 

vision would not frighten Joan as it 
might you or any other little girl of 
the present time." 

''I don't see anything to be afraid 
of, anyway. A whole lot of visions 
would not scare me." 

" You think you are very brave, 
Harold ; but I guess if you saw a real 
one you would run as fast as I would," 
said Bessie, with a little pout and a 
toss of her head. 

" Joan's voices talked more fre- 
quently with her now, and one day 
brought her a message that amazed 
her. What do you suppose it was ? " 

" Why, I think they told her that 
some great general was coming with 
a big army to kill all the English." 

" No, Marjorie, not that, something 



22 STORY OF JOAN OF AEO 

far more surprising. The word the 
angels brought was that God had 
chosen her, the little country girl, to 
free France from her persecutors ! 

'' Well might Joan be frightened 
now at the task set her. She pleaded 
with them to select some one more 
worthy than she w^as, and older too. 
She reminded them that she w-as only 
seventeen, and did not know a thing 
about fighting. She begged to be 
allowed to stay at' home and sew and 
knit as usual. She would always 
pray, but how could she go far away 
from her mother and father, and 
among all those rough soldiers ? Oh ! 
it was too dreadful to think of. Was 
there no one else to do the great 
work ? 



FIRST BAY 23 

''St. Catherine spoke very kindly, 
but insisted tliat she must obey the 
heavenly command. The poor child 
submitted, but asked how could she, 
a young country girl, do what so many 
old and tried soldiers had failed to 
accomplish. 

"St. Catherine promised that she 
should succeed, and told her to have 
no fear, for she and the good St. Mar- 
garet would always be with her to 
guide and direct her. The first thing 
she must do was to go to^aucouleurs, 
a town near Domremy, and there go 
to see Governor Baudricourt and ask 
him to let her have an escort of armed 
men to take her to the Dauphin." 

"Who was that, Auntie?" 

" In France, Marjorie, the eldest 



24 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

son of the king and also lieir to the 
throne was called by that name. The 
poor old crazy king was now dead, 
and his son Charles was rightly 
the king, but as he had not been 
crowned he was still spoken of as 
the Dauphin. 

"The 'voices' told Joan that it 
was important to have the corona- 
tion take place as soon as possible, 
as King Henry of England was also 
dead, and his followers had pro- 
claimed his little son king of France 
as well as of his own country. She 
could now tell the great secret she 
had kept for so long. She went first 
to her parents, who listened in aston- 
ishment to the strange story she told, 
and were shocked and grieved when 



FIRST DAY 25 

she asked permission to begin the 
wonderful work given her to do." 

" I don't see how they could let 
her go, do you, Auntie?" 

" They did not give their consent, 
Bessie. They were angry that she 
should ask them to allow her to go 
among rough soldiers. Her father 
even went so far in his anger as 
to declare he would rather she were 
drowned, and if it were necessary he 
would do it with his own hands ! " 

'' Auntie ! her own father wouldn't 
do such a dreadful thing as to kill her, 
would he? " 

"No, Bessie, I can hardly believe 
that he would really have destroyed 
his own child. But we cannot blame 
her parents for wanting to keep their 



26 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

young daughter from going away. 
They had not seen the visions nor 
heard the commands which Joan told 
them she had received, so could not 
understand it. It must have been 
very hard for such a good girl to 
disobey her parents, and to go far 
away from home and into unknown 
dangers without her dear mother's 
blessing. Yet her 'voices' were con- 
stantly urging her to ' go, go,' so 
she saw no other way than to leave 
secretly." 

"Did she run away in the night- 
time?" 

"No, dear, a better w^ay opened 
for her than that. An uncle, named 
Durant Laxart, who lived in a vil- 
lage near Yaucouleurs, heard her 



FIRST BAY 27 

story, and when Joan appealed to 
him for assistance he agreed to help 
her all he could. His wife was ill, 
so he proposed to take Joan home 
with him to make her sick aunt a 
little visit. Her parents readily con- 
sented, thinking perhaps the change 
would take her mind from the crazy 
plan of going to the war. Joan stayed 
but a short time at her aunt's, and 
then, accompanied by her faithful 
Uncle Laxart, set out for Vaucouleurs. 
They found a home with a kind, 
motherly woman, who took great in- 
terest in the brave young girl. She 
was timid no longer, but full of 
courage and enthusiasm for the work 
before her. 

" She and her uncle presented them- 



28 STORY OF JOAN OF AEO 

selves to the governor as soon as ])os- 
sible. He listened in astonisliment, 
as slie told him about the angels 
appearing to her and all they had 
told her to do. But when the young 
peasant had finished the strange tale, 
and boldly asked for a company of 
soldiers to take her to the Dauphin, 
why that was too much, and he 
laugh ed outright. ' ' 

" Now, I don't think that was very 
polite." 

. " No, dear, it was not; but the next 
minute he turned to her uncle and 
advised him to take her home at once, 
and give her a good sound whipping! " 

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" came in a chorus. 

"What a horrid man." 

" I guess she wished she was home 



FIRST DAY 29 

with her mamma/' said dear little 
Marjorie, Avho knew very well where 
she would have gone for comfort. 

''Most girls would have been dis- 
couraged at meeting with such a re- 
ception, but Joan would not give 
up. She went to see the great man 
a second time — you see she was not 
one bit afraid of him — and told him 
she must have help to get to the 
Daux)hin, and if he would not give 
it to her she would go all alone, and 
wear her feet off if necessary ; but 
see the Dauphin she must, and very 
quickly too ! " 

" Well, I must say, she had lots of 
pluck." 

" I do not think my girl soldier 
will disappoint you, Harold." 



30 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

" Did the cross old governor say 
lie would help her?" 

" No, dear, he sent her away dis- 
appointed again. But this time he 
did not laugh at her, nor scold her. 
It soon became known why she was 
in the town. Many came to see her, 
and those who dared talked with her." 

" Why, what were they afraid of, 
Aunt Kate?" 

"Well, they knew she claimed to 
be guided in all she was doing by 
angels sent from heaven, but they 
did not feel quite sure about that. 
It might be that evil spirits and not 
good angels were directing her, they 
thought. Among her callers was a 
young knight who was with the gov- 
ernor when she had her first inter- 



FIRST DAY 31 

view. He was interested in what lie 
had heard, and came to ask her some 
more questions. She answered them 
all so fully and seemed to be so very 
much in earnest that he believed she 
was telling the truth, and he resolved 
to help her. He laid his hands on 
hers and promised to take her to 
the Dauphin. Then another young 
knight agreed to go. There were now 
two promised, but it would not be 
safe to travel through an enemy's 
country with such a small escort, so 
she must try again to persuade the 
governor to let her have more men. 

" Here comes Mary, children, to 
call you to dress for dinner." 

^'Oh, dear! " 

"Oh, bother!" 



32 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

" Can't she wait a few minutes, 
Auntie, while you tell us quickly if 
Joan got the rest of the soldiers?" 

" No, dearie, no more to-day. Think 
over what you have heard, and I will 
tell you more to-morrow. Now run 
along with Mary." 



SECOND DAY 

TT7HILE I was dressing the next 
^ ^ morning there was a gentle 
tapping on my bedroom door, and a 
small voice saying : — 

"Please, Auntie, may I come in? " 

"Yes, dear," I answered, "the door 
is unlocked, come right in." 

As Marjorie entered, I saw that 
something had gone wrong. There 
was a cloud over the usually sunny 
face. 

"Why, dear, what has happened to 
chase the smiles away this morning ? " 
I asked. 

"Don't you see," wailed Marjorie, 

33 



34 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

"it's raining just as hard as it 
can?" 

"So it is, but why should that 
trouble our little girl so much? We 
ought to be glad the rain has come, 
for don't you know the gardener said 
yesterday his garden was so very dry ?" 

"But then, you know, we can't go 
out to the summer-house to hear more 
about Joan, and Harold says he does 
not believe that that cross man would 
let her have any soldiers." 

"That is the reason the smiles have 
hidden somewdiere, is it? Well, we 
must try to find some other nice place, 
either in the library or on the covered 
part of the piazza. Eun down stairs 
now, dear, and after breakfast we will 
talk it over." 



SECOND DAY 35 

Having finished breakfast, we looked 
about for a quiet spot, and selected a 
cosey corner of the library. 

"Now, children," I said, ''it would 
not do to sit right down to story-tell- 
ing so early in the morning ; we must 
all have some exercise first. The rain 
does not come on the piazza,, so you 
can go out there and have a good 
romp, and when I am ready I will, call 
you." 

They soon forgot the little disap- 
pointment caused by the rain, judging 
from the merry shouts of laughter 
which reached my ears from time to 
time, and the sound of rapidly moving 
feet, which proved that they were 
taking considerable exercise. 

When I went out to call them in, I 



36 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

stopped for a moment to watcli them. 
It was plainly seen that they were act- 
ing out the story I was telling. Bessie 
was Joan, and Harold made quite a 
soldierly looking St. Michael, with his 
helmet on his head and a sword 
buckled at his side. Just as I ap- 
peared wee Marjorie, as St. Catherine, 
with her arms outstretched and a 
white shawl hanging over them to 
represent wings, was whispering mys- 
terious words to Joan. I kept very 
quiet so as to see more of the play, 
but they spied me. 

"Oh, here's Auntie," all cried at 
once. 

"Yes, children, I am ready now. 
Get your fixings off, and come to the 
library." 



SECOND DAY 37 

After we were comfortably settled, 
our atlas on the table, I continued : — 

''Now that two young knights of 
such high degree had shown their 
faith in Joan by promising to go with 
her, and the people were taking an 
interest in her and were talking so 
much about the hope held out to them, 
the governor thought he would better 
have another talk with the strange 
girl. But he did not feel quite sure 
what kind of spirits those were that 
had so much to say to her. She might 
be a witch, for all he knew. So, to be 
on the safe side and not run any risk 
of harm coming to himself, he took a 
priest with him, who could bid the 
evil spirits begone, if there were any." 

' ' Ha, ha, ha, ' ' laughed Harold. ' ' The 



38 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

governor was afraid slie would turn 
him into a hop-toad, I guess." 

We all laughed at such a funny 
idea. 

"Yes," said Marjorie, "because he 
spoke so cross when she came to him 
for the soldiers." 

" Well, they found nothing to fear, 
and the governor at last agreed to let 
her have the men-at-arms she asked 
for. But he would only give her 
five, however, and nothing else would 
he do but to give her a letter to the 
Dauphin. He said if she would go, 
why, she must take the risk. They 
lost no time in preparing for the long 
march to Chinon. I will help you 
find that place. See, it is near the 
western part of France, and Yaucou- 



SECOND BAY 39 

leurs being so far on the eastern 
side, you can see how far slie had 
to go." 

"Did she have to walk all the way, 
Auntie ? " 

'' No, Bessie; the good people of the 
town provided her with a fine, strong 
horse and everything needful for the 
journey. She had not been accus- 
tomed to riding and felt a little timid 
about it, but there was no other way. 
And then she had to think about what 
she should wear. Now that she was 
going to live the rough life of a sol- 
dier, a girl's dress would not be at all 
suitable. She knew that she would 
be exposed to storms and often have 
to sleep out on the open ground, so it 
was decided that she should wear 



40 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

armor, just like tlie men, and indeed 
her ' voices ' told her to do so." 

"How funny," giggled Marjorie, 
"for a girl to wear men's things." 

" It was, dear, but it was best. The 
heavy armor must have been very un- 
comfortable and hard to manage at 
first." 

" What is armor. Auntie? " 

"It is a covering for the entire 
body, made of metal, and put together 
in such a way that the person wear-, 
ing it can move about. It was worn 
in olden times in battles as a protec- 
tion against the spears and arrows of 
a foe." 

" They have some fine ones at the 
museum. Auntie ; I saw them a little 
while ago." 



SECOND DAY 41 

" I know they have, and when you 
return to the city, Harold, you must 
take your little sister there and let 
her see them. 

" As the time drew near for the 
start, some of Joan's new friends 
urged her not to go. The enemy held 
that part of the country she would 
have to go through, for a long distance, 
and she would be in constant danger 
of meeting them. She told them she 
had no fear, as God would be with 
her. When all was ready the brave 
girl and her little band of seven, the 
two knights and the five men-at-arms 
provided by the governor, set out on 
the perilous journey." 

" I hope she had a fight on the 
way ! " 



42 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

" How dreadful you are, Harold, 
when you know slie is just learning 
to ride and is not used to being a sol- 
dier yet," said Bessie, indignantly. 

" All right, Bess, that would be 
rather rough on a girl, so I take it all 
back," Harold replied, looking quite 
penitent. 

" They had to use the utmost cau- 
tion to avoid having a fight, travelling 
mostly by night, and hiding in the 
deep forests in the daytime. They 
kept away from the towns as much as 
possible. But the march was such a 
hard one, there were so many rivers 
to cross. It seems truly wonderful to 
me that Joan did not get discouraged 
and want to turn back. But the dar- 
ing girl's greatest danger came right 



SECOND BAY 43 

from her own little company. They 
had not gone far before the men began 
to get nervons and dissatisfied, and to 
wish they had not come at all. The 
farther away from home they got the 
more frightened they became. Here 
tliey were, they said among them- 
selves, taking great chances of being 
killed by the English. And, after all, 
perhaps Joan was jnst a crazy girl, or 
worse still, a witch, and might get 
them into some dreadful trouble. So 
they began to plan some way to get 
rid of her. 

"'Let's throw her down one of 
these stone quarries ! ' said one ; ' or 
leave her in the wood ! ' suggested 
another." 

" Auntie," broke in Bessie, " those 



44 STORY OF JOAN OF ARQ 

two knights would not do anything so 
horrible as that, would they? '' 

" No, indeed ; they would not con- 
sent to such treachery. They had 
sworn to take her to the Dauphin, 
and meant to keep their word if pos- 
sible, and would have defended her 
with their own lives, I am sure. But 
even they sometimes wondered how 
it would all turn out." 

'' Didn't Joan herself ever feel 
afraid? " 

" No, she felt so sure that God 
would take her through all the dan- 
gers and trials of the wearisome march 
safely that she felt no fear. And she 
was right, for in due time she reached 
her journey's end without harm. She 
stopped at an inn, and from there sent 



SECOND BAY 45 

the governor's letter to the Dauphin ; 
and also the message that she had 
come all that great distance to help 
him , and asked for an interview. What 
must have been the poor, tired girl's 
disappointment when he refused to 
see her." 

" Was he afraid, too, that she was a 
witch?" 

" Not exactly that, Marjorie, but 
some of his followers at court had 
their own reasons for not wanting 
them to meet. They had heard all 
about Joan, and knew just what she 
was coming for; and they feared if she 
were allowed to talk with their prince 
she might make him feel ashamed of 
himself, and perhaps then he might 
want to do something for his suffering 



46 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

people, and if he did, why of course 
they would all have to follow him. 
It was easy to persuade the Dauphin 
not to have anything to do with her. 
How did he know but it might be just 
a trick of the English to get him away 
and in their hands, they asked him. 
And, anyway, they did not believe 
that she could do anything but talk." 

"What a shame that was, Aunt 
Kate, after she had come so far, 
too ! " 

"Yes, it was hard, for she was so 
anxious to get started on her holy 
mission. But her good ' voices ' spoke 
with her vei^ often and comforted 
her. They told her to wait patiently, 
for the time would surely come when 
the Dauphin would permit her to see 
him and tell her story. 



SECOND BAY 47 

'' The i^eople from far and near 
flocked to see the young girl who 
claimed that she had been sent by 
God for their relief. What sort of a 
person could it be wliom angels came 
down from heaven to visit? They 
gazed at her in awe and wonder. 
She talked with them so freely and 
was so very much in earnest that 
she convinced those who came of her 
truthfulness^ Fresh hope sprang up 
in their poor, sad hearts. The two 
young knights did all they could to 
induce the Dauphin to let Joan talk 
with him. Some of his old generals 
visited her and asked her many ques- 
tions. They also had faith in her, 
and told the Dauphin he ought not 
to let such a chance for help escape. 



48 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

" At last he consented, and word 
was sent to the waiting girl that on 
a certain day she might come to the 
castle. They planned a little trick 
to see if the spirits she talked so 
much about really did tell her true 
things. The Dauphin, dressed very 
plainly, stood back among the others 
of his court, while one of his nobles, 
richly attired, waited in the middle 
of the room to receive her." 

" Had she ever seen him. Auntie?" 
" No, Bessie, so the test would be 
a pretty good one. Now how will 
she act? The gay ladies and fine 
courtiers were expecting her to make 
a mistake and address the false king, 
and there were some there who would 
be glad if she did. How natural to 



SECOND BAY 49 

think that the simple peasant would 
be dazzled by all the splendor of a 
king's court, and not know just what 
to do. But when she was led into 
the gorgeous room, different from 
anything she had ever seen, she was 
not one little bit confused, and with- 
out apj)earing to take any notice of 
all those looking at her, she aston- 
ished everybody by going straight up 
to the disguised prince, and kneel- 
ing before him, said : ' I am Joan, 
the maid. God has sent me to save 
France.' Even then, to try her fur- 
ther, the Dauphin told her she was 
wrong, and that the one she wanted 
to see was standing apart, and 
he motioned to the make-believe 
prince. Joan told him no, she 



50 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

knew that he and no other was the 
Dauphin." 

"How splendid that was; but I 
don't see how she could tell." 

"Well, their little trick failed. 
Joan told him all about the visits 
of St. Michael and the angels and 
what they had commanded her to do. 
She assured him if he would only 
listen to her she would, with God's 
help, free the country of his enemies 
and crown him its lawful king, and 
that there was no one else on earth 
who could do it. But, she said, he 
must give her the control of the 
army ! We cannot wonder that the 
Dauphin was astonished and could 
not at once agree to any such re- 
markable demand as that." 



SECOND DAY 51 

"Well, I know if I was a prince 
I would not put a girl at the head 
of my army." 

" No, Harold, you would take that 
place yourself, I am sure." 

" I guess I would," he answered 
emphatically. 

" In order to make sure that Joan's 
strange voices did not come from 
some evil spirit, the Dauphin ordered 
a number of priests and learned men 
to have a long talk with her. Poor 
girl ! she had to answer dozens of 
questions ! And then messengers 
were sent to her home to inquire 
about her there. The long delay was 
so tiresome ; she wanted so much to 
be up and doing. The j)ersons sent 
to examine her were convinced that 



62 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

slie was a good and triitlifnl girl and 
would have nothing to do with any- 
thing that was evil. So they re- 
ported to the Dauphin that no fault 
could be found with her, and advised 
him to accept her offer." 

" Good ! Now, my fine gentlemen, 
you will have to leave your life of 
ease and get out and do some hard 
work ! " 

"Do wait, Harold, and don't inter- 
rupt Aunt Kate so." 

'' All right, Bess, I won't any more; 
but it is such fun to have those counts 
and noblemen made to stir around." 

" I can understand how you feel, 
Harold, and I too should be glad to 
see them forced to take up arms for 
the defence of their country. 



SECOND BAY 53 

"Well, there was no longer any 
reason wliy Joan should not be given 
a chance to see what she could do. 
They started to organize an army 
at once, which the Dauphin ordered 
should be commanded by Joan, and 
while his officers might assist her by 
their advice, when needed, they must 
all obey her orders ! " 

" Phew ! I guess there was trouble 
then. I don't believe old soldiers 
liked that; I know I would not." 

" They made no objection then, 
Harold, and as for the men, they were 
ready to follow her anywhere she 
might lead. There was no trouble in 
raising an army. Both old and young 
men hurried into the town to join the 
ranks of the new leader. All felt 



54 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

fresh spirit and hope. For had not 
God pitied them and sent a deliverer? 
What busy days those were ! Such 
polishing up of old armor which had 
grown dingy from not being used in 
so long, and sharpening of swords, 
and looking after the cannon to see 
if all were in good order." 

"Why, Auntie, did they have can- 
non then? " 

"I thought they fought with spears 
and arrows in those days." 

''So they did, children, but they 
also had cannon. Of course they 
were very different from those in our 
armies to-day. You would hardly 
recognize them as cannon, they were 
so odd looking. 

" While they were equipping the 



SECOND BAY 55 

army Joan also had to be provided 
for. The leader of a king's troops 
must have everything new and fine. 
The Dauphin had a handsome suit of 
armor made for her of silver." 

" Oh ! how lovely that was ! " 

"Indeed, my dear, it must have 
been. He also gave her a fine white 
horse. She had learned to manage a 
horse well, and was not at all timid 
about riding now." 

"There, I have just thought, Aunt 
Kate, you have never told us what 
Joan looked like ; was she beautiful ? 
I hope she was ! " 

" Surely that was an oversight not to 
describe my heroine's appearance. I 
do not think she was beautiful, but she 
was pretty and had an attractive face. 



66 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

Her eyes were very handsome ; they 
were large and dark ; they could look 
quite stern when she was angry, and 
then so soft and sad when she was 
grieved. Joan's hair was long and 
dark ; she usually wore it parted and 
drawn back, tied with a ribbon. 

''She told them just how she wanted 
her banner made. It was of white 
satin. On one side was the image of 
God, seated on the clouds and holding 
the world in his hands, and on the 
other side were embroidered beautiful, 
lilies." 

"Did Joan have a sword just like 
real generals ? " 

" Indeed she did, Marjorie, and it was 
very remarkable how she obtained it." 

" I can tell you how ; St. Michael 
gave her his." 



SECOND BAY 57 

''Do be quiet, Harold ; you know 
very well a spirit could not do such a 
thing," chided Bessie. 

" All right, Bess, I'm as mum as a 
mouse." 

" While the good saints did not ac- 
tually give her a sword, the ' voices ' 
had something to do with it. The 
Dauphin offered her one, but the 
saints had directed her to send to a 
certain church, and in a secret place 
behind the altar would be found a 
sword which had five crosses engraved 
on its blade. That was the one they 
desired her to carry all through the 
campaign, and on no account to take 
any other. Messengers were sent to 
the church, and sure enough, there 
was the very sword ! It was quite 



58 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

dull and rusty, but when it was all 
polished up it was as good as new. 
Now, the people were sure that good 
angels were guiding Joan, for that 
very sword had mysteriously disap- 
peared a long time before, and al- 
though search was made for it, it 
could not be found." 

" That was very strange, wasn't it. 
Auntie ? " 

" Yes, dear, very, indeed. 

" Notwithstanding all the bustle 
and excitement of those busy days, 
Joan never neglected going to church 
as often as possible, and even re- 
quired her soldiers to do the same. 
And that they were willing to, shows 
what a strange power she held over 
them, for those rough men were not 



SECOND BAY 59 

in the habit of paying much attention 
to religion. 

" The young girl was shocked at 
the rough language many of her sol- 
diers used, and that she soon put a 
stop to. There was one grim old 
veteran named La Hire who was noted 
for his profanity, and even he, a gen- 
eral, respected her wishes and tried 
his best not to swear. He would 
sometimes forget, but would feel sorry 
for it right away. So you see, chil- 
dren, though only a very young girl 
she was able to command the obedi- 
ence and respect of the troops. The 
Dauphin provided her with two pages 
whose duty it was to wait on her and 
look after her comfort. Then she had 
two heralds." 



60 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

" Please tell me what heralds are, 
Auntie? " 

''They were messengers, Marjorie. 
If Joan had any word to send to one 
of her officers, she would send it by a 
herald. Their place was near her, so 
as to be always ready when needed. 
Her two good friends, the knights, 
who had travelled with her to Chinon, 
were given positions of honor on her 
staff. 

"What a stirring scene there must 
have been when all was at last ready 
for the army to move — the soldiers 
all drawn up in marching order, and 
at their head the wonderful girl clad 
in her glittering armor and seated on 
her great war horse ! There was no 
sadness in those big black eyes now ; 



SECOND BAY 61 

they were bright and full of fire, and 
her face fairly glowed with the joy 
she felt that at last the deliverance 
of her dear coij^try was beginning. 

" At her side rode a herald bearing 
the beautiful sacred banner, which as ^ 
it waved in the breeze showed now 
the image of God and now the blue 
lilies of France. Old men felt young 
again, and weak-hearted ones strong 
once more, as they marched away 
amid the cheers and the waving of 
flags, of the women and children left 
behind." 

" Where was the Dauphin ? Didn't 
he go too? " 

" No indeed, Harold, he was not 
ready yet to leave his comfortable 
castle and pleasures to brave the dan- 



62 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

gers of a conflict with the English. I 
think he wanted to wait and see how 
his new leader got along first. We 
must now look for Orleans." 

All heads bent over the map. 

" I have it, Aunt Kate, and it is 
right on a river." 

" Your bright eyes found it very 
quickly, Bessie. Yes, Orleans is on 
the north bank of the river Loire. 
The English had carried on a siege 
before that city for a long time. The 
inhabitants were in the greatest dis- 
tress. It would be impossible for 
them to hold out much longer, for 
their food supply was running low 
and there was no way to get any 
more. They had sent repeatedly to 
the Dauphin for help, but were told 



SECOND DAY 63 

he could do nothing for them. It was 
very important that Orleans should 
be saved, so Joan's first work was to 
bring relief and try to raise the siege." 

" I don't know just what a siege is 
like, Auntie." 

"I will try to explain it, dearie. 
It sometimes happens that an army 
does not feel strong enough to attack 
a city or fort, but instead they sur- 
round the place they want to capture 
and stay there for days and days, 
hoping that in time the people will 
be forced to surrender, from not hav- 
ing enough food or water, or, as it 
often happens, from sickness break- 
ing out. Do you understand, Mar- 
jorie ? " 

'' Yes, Auntie, I do now." 



64 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

" That was the way it was at Or- 
leans. The young girl leader had a 
hard task before her, which had 
been given up long ago by the French 
generals. In those early days the 
people built great high stone walls 
around their cities to protect them- 
selves from any enemy who might 
come to destroy them. In the walls 
were large gates through which the 
inhabitants could pass in and out. 
In times of war no one would be 
allowed to enter those gates without 
first proving to the keeper, whose 
duty it was to guard them, that they 
were friendly. As a further protec- 
tion, deep ditches or moats, as they 
are called, were dug all around the 
outside of the wall, which could be 



SECOND BAY 65 

filled with water and so make it very 
hard for an attacking force to get 
over." 

"But, then, how could the people 
themselves cross if they wanted to ? " 

" Bridges were built, which in time 
of danger could be lifted up or drawn 
aside." 

"Oh, I know, something like a 
drawbridge." 

"Yes, Bessie, that is the idea." 

"Now Orleans had its strong wall, 
and being a large city, there were. five 
gates in it. Besides the wall and the 
ditch, the citizens had built two strong 
forts where they could first fight, and 
then if defeated could retreat inside 
the city and close the gates. 

" Now, children, at the time of my 



66 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

story the English had beaten the 
French away from their forts and 
forced them back inside the walls. 
They went right to work and built 
several more forts, which they occu- 
pied, so you see the poor folk in Or- 
leans were caught in a nice trap, and 
there was no way for them to get out. " 

" How grand Joan was to try to go 
there to help them." 

" She was the right sort, I tell 
you." 

" Indeed, my dears, there is no 
character in history to equal her. As 
she led her army through the differ- 
ent towns and villages the people 
thronged in the streets and greeted 
them with cheers. So great was the 
enthusiasm, that men who never ex- 



SECOND DAY 67 

pected to fight again left their work 
and begged to be allowed to go with 
them to the relief of poor, distressed 
Orleans." 

" Did they know she was com- 
ing? " 

" Yes, word had been sent that help 
was on the way. The citizens were 
eagerly watching for her. How very 
strange and mysterious it must have 
seemed that, when they were almost 
in despair, a young girl should sud- 
denly appear who promised to deliver 
them from their enemies." 

''Did the English find out she was 
coming? " 

"Yes, Joan had sent the English 
commander a letter by one of her 
heralds." 



68 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

"But she couldn't write," broke in 
Marjorie. 

" She told her secretary just what 
to say, and he wrote it down. It was 
a long letter, calling on the English 
to leave at once; and not only to do 
that, but to give up all the other towns 
they had taken. She told them she 
had been sent by her Master, God, to 
restore the country to its rightful 
king, and if they did not all yield 
peaceably she would use force, and 
make such a noise as had not been 
heard in France these thousand years;" 

" That was the way to talk ! What 
did they say to that? " 

" Just as might be expected, Harold. 
They had no idea of obeying the com- 
mands of a peasant, and a girl at that. 



SECOND DAY 69 

They were furious at her daring to 
send them such a letter ; and to pun- 
ish her they kept her messenger, and 
even threatened to burn him. 

" Now, my dears, I see that the rain 
has stopped. You have sat still long 
enough ; so go out and have a good 
playtime." 

" And you won't tell us to-day how 
Joan got to Orleans?" cried Bessie, 
in distressed tones. 

4' I think you have heard quite 
enough for this time, and must wait 
until to-morrow for that." 

''Well, you are a dear, good auntie 
to spend so much time with us little 
folks," said Bessie, as she threw her 
dear arms about me and nearly 
smothered me with kisses. 



70 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

After each had bestowed a generous 
amount of hugs and kisses, I said : — 

'' Now, children, listen. I have a 
plan to propose ; see how you will like 
it. If the sun comes out bright for 
the rest of the day so as to dry the 
grass, suppose we make a picnic for 
to-morrow — take our lunch and go out 
to the woods for the rest of the story? " 

" That would be perfectly lovely ! " 

" Just the very thing." 

" You always think of such nice 
things to do. Aunt Kate." 

" I am glad you all like my plan. 
We will ask Bridget to make us some 
of her fine cookies." 

" Yes, and we'll take lots of good 
things." 

"Indeed we will, Marjorie." 



THIRD DAY 

" A RE you nearly ready, Aunt 
■-^-^ Kate? John is at the door," 
called Bessie from the foot of the 
stairs the next' morning. 

" Yes, dear, I will be down in a few 
minutes," I replied. " Have Harold 
and John put the baskets in the 
wagon." 

When I came out all were busy 
stowing our lunch baskets under the 
seats. 

" I think we have them all in, 
Auntie," said Harold. " Just see how 
nicely we have packed them." 

I looked and then laughed to see 

71 



72 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

the big baskets, and little baskets, 
and boxes besides. 

"Why, children," I said, "it looks 
as though we were taking supplies to 
some besieged city." 

"I guess we haven't got too much, 
Auntie ; you know how hungry we get 
in the woods." 

"That is true, Harold, and I have 
no doubt but I shall eat my Ml share. 
I think we will put in a couple of 
rugs, also." 

" Do you want the atlas ? " 

" No, Harold, I do not believe we 
shall get beyond Orleans to-day. Now 
all jump in." John touched up the 
horses and we were off. 

It was a beautiful morning. The 
country looked bright and lovely. The 



THIRD DAY 73 

shower of the day before had washed 
the dust from the leaves of the trees 
which lined the road. The cows in 
the fields contentedly chewing their 
cuds, turned their heads to look at us 
as we passed. A frolicking colt made 
the children cry out with glee as it 
poked its saucy face over the bars of 
the fence. And the corn, as its long, 
silky plumes waved in the gentle 
breeze, seemed to nod to us and wish 
us a hapiDy day. All nature was as 
smiling and joyous as the dear chil- 
dren who kept up a continual chatter 
and merry laughter. John drove us 
as far in the woods as he could, and 
after unloading, left us, with instruc- 
tions to meet us at the same place at 
three o'clock. 



74 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

'' Now, children/' I said, " we must 
look about for a nice spot for our pic- 
nic. There is a lovely stream near 
here which will give us cool and de- 
licious water to drink." 

Gathering up our traps and numer- 
ous baskets, we started off to explore, 
but had not gone far when we came 
across a place which seemed just right 
for us. The brook was close by ; and 
the ground in a little open space was 
covered with a thick bed of pine 
needles, which, when the rugs were 
spread out, made a most comfortable 
place to sit. 

" Are you all ready? " I asked. 

" Yes, Auntie, begin now." 

" You remember seeing that Orleans 
was on the north bank of the river 



THIBB DAY 75 

Loire ? Joan wanted to march straight 
up on that side and enter the city. 
But some of the strongest forts were 
there. Her officers thought it would 
be safer to approach the city from the 
south side, and so keep the river be- 
tween them and the English. Joan 
assured them that they should pass 
the forts in safety, for her heavenly 
voices had told her so. But the cap- 
tains did not have the same faith and 
courage she had, and while they did 
not dare openly to disobey her, they 
deceived her by crossing the river on 
a bridge some miles below Orleans. 
When they w^ere in sight of the city 
Joan discovered the trick and was 
very angry." 

" Well, I should think she would 



76 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

be. How did the captains think they 
were going to get over right before the 
enemy?" exclaimed Harold, showing 
plainly the disgust he felt for those 
officers. 

" You are quite right, Harold, and 
they saw their mistake, so there was 
nothing left to do but to send the main 
part of the army back to where they 
had crossed, and bring them up on the 
other side after all. To save time, it 
was arranged that Joan, with a strong 
guard, should try to get the supplies 
over from where they were. To take 
the attention of the English, some of 
the besieged made a show of coming 
out to attack one of the forts. After 
some little difficulty with the boats 
all succeeded in crossing, and that 



THIRD BAY 77 

evening Joan, mounted on her war 
horse, entered the city ! " 

"Hurrah, hurrah!" shouted Har- 
old. 

" That is what the poor penned- 
up jDeople said when they saw her. 
There was the wildest excitement. 
She seemed to them to be an angel 
sent right down from heaven to lift 
them out of their misery. Men, 
women, and children crowded about 
her, trying to kiss her hands, her feet, 
and even the trappings of her horse. 
They crowded so close that one of the 
lighted torches set fire to the fringe 
on her banner. The citizens were 
nearly wild with joy. She brought 
them food, and cheered them with her 
kind words and x^romises of deliver- 



78 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

ance. Joan would have begun the 
attack the very next day, but as you 
know, she had to wait for the rest of 
her troops to get there. In the mean- 
time she sent two more letters to the 
English commanders, urging them to 
save bloodshed by going away." 

" I would not let them off so easy 
as that." 

" You see, Harold, the gentle girl 
did not want to kill any one, — all she 
wanted was for them to leave and go 
back to their own country. But of 
course they would not give up for a 
girl what they had so long been light- 
ing for. 

" She demanded the return of the 
first herald, and the last two also. 
The governor added a word that if 



THIRD BAY 79 

they did not send tliem back, he would 
kill all the English prisoners in the 
city. They returned all but one, with 
a very saucy message to Joan. She 
made one more appeal. She went up 
in a high place where she could be 
heard by the commander in the near- 
est fort, and called out in a loud voice 
for them to save themselves while 
there was yet time, and to do so 
quickly, for if they forced her to fight 
it would go very hard with them. 
They only laughed at her, and the 
commander shouted back that she 
would better go home and tend the 
cows." 

"They were not very much afraid 
of her, were they ? " 

" Not yet, but they had cause to be 



80 STOUT OF JO AX OF ABC 

before I0112;. AYlien the rest of the 
army were Hearing the citv, Joan 
went out with a guard to meet them 
and escort them inside the 2;ates." 

" Didn't the English try to keep 
them from oettins; in? " 

" No, Haroht, strange to say they 
made no effort to prevent it. Joan's 
' voices ' said truly that they should 
pass without trouble, and they 
marched right by the fortifications 
and entered the city." 

"That seems strange. Auntie." 

"I do not think the Enolish were 
very watchful, Harold. They had 
gotten careless, and could not believe 
there would be any trouble. 

"That same afternoon, one of the 
French officers took some of the newly 



THIRD DAY 81 

arrived troops and went out to attack 
one of the forts. He had received no 
orders from his chief to do so. I 
think lie wanted to get a little glory 
all by himself, but he very nearly 
came to grief. Joan, being tired from 
the march, had lain down for a little 
rest and had fallen asleep, when she 
was suddenly awakened by a great 
noise of shouting and confusion in 
the street. Up she sprang to inquire 
the cause, and when she was told 
of the attack her officious captain had 
attempted, and that he and his men 
were being driven back, she cried out, 
' My arms ! my arms ! my horse ! Oh, 
why was I not wakened ? ' 

" Rushing down the stairs and out 
to the street, she sprang on her horse 



82 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

and started off at a gallop ! Then, 
remembering that she had forgotten 
her sacred banner, back she flew and 
took it from a page, who handed it to 
her from a window. On she rushed 
again and out to the gate, where she 
found her men almost in a panic. 
Shouting to them to have courage, and 
waving her banner, she ran among 
them urging them to go back ! — not 
to yield ! Seeing her and hearing her 
voice gave the soldiers greater confi- 
dence, and they turned about and fol- 
lowed her to renew the assault. The 
English from another fort now hurried 
up to reenforce their comrades ; they 
now outnumbered the French. An 
alarm was rung in the city, and the 
rest of the army came pouring out. 



THIRD DAY 83 

A fierce battle raged for several hours. 
Both sides fought desperately. It 
was Joan's first battle, but she did 
not flinch, but kept right wherever the 
fighting was fiercest, cheering and en- 
couraging her men, and the sight of 
the glorious girl, who seemed to take 
no notice of the dangers surrounding 
her, made them more determined to 
win. Wherever that banner led, they 
gladly and bravely followed. At last 
the English were forced to give way. 
The French won the day ! " 

" Auntie ! I just held my breath 
I was so afraid Joan would be hurt," 
said Marjorie, with a little sigh of re- 
lief. 

"It is wonderful how she should 
have escaped, for of course the ban- 



84 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

ner told all just where she was. The 
fort was taken, and all the English 
found inside were put to death ! " 

"Dear, dear," exclaimed Bessie, 
"did Joan order that done?" 

" No, Bessie, she was far too ten- 
der-hearted to have allowed it had 
she known it in time to save the poor 
fellows. After all was over the brave 
leader was just a girl again. She 
wept bitterly over the dead and dying 
all about her. A battle field was all 
so new and terrible to the sensitive 
girl. 

" When the victorious army re- 
turned to the city there was great 
rejoicing. Bells were rung, flags 
waved from the housetops, and reli- 
gious services were held in all of the 



THIRD DAY 85 

churches. All felt now that the days 
of their bitter trials were nearly over, 
and that the heaven-sent deliverer 
could do all she promised. They 
looked upon her with love and adora- 
tion. But outside, in the English 
garrisons, the soldiers had a very dif- 
ferent opinion of her. They feared 
and hated her. They could not get 
over their defeat. It was so new and 
strange for them to be beaten ! Only 
a wicked witch could have done it; 
they thought ! 

" The next day was a holy day in 
Joan's church. She spent the most 
of it in prayer, and the army rested 
and prepared for the morrow. 

" One of the five gates I told you 
were built in the great wall surround- 



86 STORY OF JOAN OF ARQ 

ing Orleans led on to a bridge which 
crossed the river. On the end of the 
bridge was a strong fort, and beyond 
that on shore were other fortifica- 
tions, which would have to be taken 
before the one on the bridge could be 
reached. 

" The people of Orleans had broken 
away the end of the bridge, which 
was connected with the city wall, so 
that the English could not attack 
them from that end. The troops 
were refreshed by the day's rest, and 
early in the morning Joan led them 
to try to destroy some of the forts on 
the south side of the river. They 
crossed over on a bridge made of 
boats. Without waiting for all to 
get over, Joan started with those 



THIRD BAY 87 

wlio liad crossed for an attack on 
one of the smaller forts. When she 
reached it she found the soldiers had 
gone to one of the bridge fortifica- 
tions. She followed after as fast as 
she could. When she reached it she 
planted her banner against the wall 
and i^repared for an assault. Just 
then the English from another fort 
were discovered hurrying up to help 
their brother soldiers. The French 
were frightened, and quick as a flash 
turned to fly back to the boats. The 
brave girl tried to rally them, but 
they had got started, and on they 
went. The English garrison, seeing 
their foe in retreat, rushed out to 
pursue them, laughing at them as 
they ran. That was too much for 



88 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

the brave-spirited girl. She suddenly 
turned about, and with a few gallant 
followers, boldly charged down on 
the English, her black eyes flashing 
fire, and her hair flying in the wind ! 
She struck terror to their hearts ! It 
was their turn to run now. They 
turned before the angry girl and 
made for the fort as fast as they 
could go ! " 

"Why, Auntie, why did they do 
that when it was only a girl after 
them?'' 

" Because they thought that girl 
was the witch of France. They could 
fight men and generally beat them, 
but when witches took a hand in 
the fight it was quite a different 
matter. 



THIRD DAY 89 

" On tliey rushed, Joan in hot pur- 
suit. Again she placed her banner 
against the wall, and the rest of the 
troops now being with her, the assault 
was made. The English defended" 
their position well, but were finally 
overcome and the fort taken. Joan 
ordered it burned. The English now 
began to lose heart. They had lost 
for the second time. They feared 
Joan more and more, and thought 
that somehow the French had gotten 
the powers of evil to help them." 

" I tell you what. Aunt Kate, it's 
just wonderful to think you are tell- 
ing a true story." 

" Indeed it is, Harold, and the more 
we think over it, the more wonderful 
it all seems. Joan was so coura- 



90 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

geous, SO earnest, and yet gentle and 
womanly." 

'' I was so afraid she would be 
wounded this time I didn't know 
what to do." 

" She escaped so far, Bessie, but 
the time was near when she would 
suffer the agony of a wound." 

" dear, I hoped she never would 
be hurt," sighed Bessie. 

" And strange to say, Bessie, she 
knew of it beforehand, and told of 
her presentiment." 

" I say. Auntie, suppose we try 
some of those chicken sandwiches? 
The ride has given me an appetite." 

" I'd like to know, Harold, if there 
ever was a time when you didn't have 
an appetite," said Bessie, laughing. 



THIRD BAY 91 

" Yes, when I'm asleep," lie re- 
torted. 

" Your suggestion is a good one, 
Harold," I said. "I too feel a little 
hungry, so we will each have a sand- 
wich before I go on with my story, and 
you can take the pitcher to the brook, 
and bring us some nice cool water." 

We found the sandwiches exceed- 
ingly good, and when we had finished 
our little repast I proposed we should 
roam about for a while. 

"Come, Marjorie," said Bessie, "let 
us look for some wild flowers to dress 
the lunch table with." 

" I guess you mean table cloth, for 
there won't be any table," she replied, 
laughing. 

" Of course not, Marjorie, we will 



92 STORY OF JOAN OF ARQ 

spread the cloth on the ground, but 
we can put our flowers on it just the 
same." 

We wandered about for half an 
hour. When the children returned 
they had quite a supply of pretty 
flowers, and their arms full of lovely 
ferns. 

" Now all settle down," I said, "and 
I will continue. 

" Joan and some of her officers re- 
turned to the city for that night to 
rest and plan for the next day, when 
the hardest work of all would be done. 
She left the main part of the army on 
the other side to be ready for an early 
attack on the second fortification near 
the bridge. That evening she told 
one of her attendants to keep near her 



THIRD DAY 93 

in the next day's battle, as her blood 
would flow! '' 

"I don't see, Auntie, how she could 
go with the soldiers when she knew 
she would be wounded." 

''It was because she thought more 
of her great work than herself. 

" Joan rose early that morning, and 
after going to church and praying for 
success for her army, she rode through 
the city accompanied by her captains, 
and followed by a crowd of citizens, 
who were to help in the coming at- 
tack. Every man would be needed, 
for that day would probably decide the 
fate of Orleans. 

"When they had joined the army 
on the other side, Joan put herself at 
its head, as she always did, and led it 



94 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

to an assault on the fortification before 
the bridge. A wide ditch was before 
them ! Into it the brave fellows leaped, 
and swarmed up the sides to reach the 
fort, while cannon fire and arrows were 
showered down on them from above ! 
Again and again the French troops 
charged and were driven back ! The 
English were making the fight of their 
lives, for if they lost now they would 
lose Orleans ! Joan cheered and en- 
couraged her men, telling them not to 
fear, that the place would yet be 
theirs. At last, to give them greater 
courage, she sprang down in the great 
ditch, and seized a scaling ladder, 
which she put against the side of 
the ditch and was climbing up, 
when an arrow struck her in the 



THIRD DAY 95 

shoulder, and she fell bleeding to 
the ground! " 

"Poor, dear Joan," said Marjorie, 
the tears shining in her sweet blue 
eyes. 

"It's too bad she was wounded, but 
it was good they didn't capture her," 
said Harold. 

" I suppose now she had to give up 
and go back to the city." 

" No, they carried her to a place of 
safety, and the poor girl pulled the 
dreadful arrow out with her own 
hands ! She was faint and somewhat 
frightened, but in a little while her 
strength and courage returned, and 
after her wound was dressed she 
joined her troops again. They had 
made no headway, and were feeling 



96 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

discouraged. The captains told Joan 
they wanted to retire and try again 
the next day." 

" That would be a silly thing to 
do ! " exclaimed Harold. " They ought 
to keep pegging away at them." 

" So thought their commander, and 
she urged them not to give up. She 
entreated them to have more courage, 
and promised them in God's name 
they should enter the fort very soon. 
They knew they had always won when 
they listened to Joan, so they agreed 
to fight on. Joan ordered her soldiers 
to rest and refresh themselves with 
food and drink. She mounted her 
horse and went aside to pray, for a 
few minutes. When she returned and 
gave the command to renew^ the at- 




Joan of Arc Wounded. — From drawing by A. de Neuville. 



THIRD DAY 97 

tack, all were ready. She told tliem 
to watch, and when her banner 
touched the wall to go in, as the place 
would be theirs. The French fought 
furiously, and when they saw the 
wind blow the sacred banner against 
the wall, the excited fellows rushed 
madly up the ladders, which were 
raised by the sides of the ditch in all 
directions, and made a desperate as- 
sault on the fort itself. 

"While all this fierce fighting was 
going on at one end of the bridge, the 
citizens left in the town had taken 
planks and beams and placed across 
the broken end, and were crossing to 
attack the English from that side. 
The English general, seeing how close 
he was being pressed, ordered all to 



98 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

go in the big fort Which was on the 
bridge. He led the way, when sud- 
denly a great bomb from the city 
struck that part of the bridge where 
they were walking, and broke it; 
down in the river the general and 
many of his officers and men fell ! " 

" Were they drowned. Auntie ? " 

"Yes, dear, their heavy armor car- 
ried them right down." 

"I feel sorry for them, don't you, 
Auntie ? " 

" Yes, Marjorie, and so did Joan ; 
it made her cry. 

" Now that their leader was gone, 
those left in the fort soon gave up. 
The broken part of the bridge was 
repaired, and the wonderful girl and 
her victorious army marched in tri- 



THIRD BAY 99 

umpli across it, as she said she would 
do, and entered the city ! " 

" Hip, hip, hurrah ! " the children 
shouted, and for a few minutes the 
woods rang with their noise. 

" The citizens were now nearly 
crazy from joy. Bonfires blazed all 
over the city. Bells pealed out from 
every steeple, flags were flung out 
to the breeze ; everybody joined in 
the rejoicing^ which was kept up until 
a late hour that night. 

" At an early hour the next morn- 
ing the English left the other forts 
very quietly, and marched toward the 
city and formed in line of battle. But 
the careful watchmen in the towers 
saw what they were up to and sounded 
an alarm, which brought the French 

L.ofC. 



100 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

soldiers on a run from their different 
quarters. The whole town was soon 
astir. The faithful young commander 
came galloping up to join her troops. 
Away they went boldly, through the 
gates to meet the foe ! 

"The two armies stood facing each 
other. Before giving the order to 
advance to the attack, Joan called for 
a camp altar and desired her priests 
to offer up prayers for their success 
in the coming conflict. The army in 
front of them seemed stunned, and 
did not offer to open the battle. Just 
as the little service was finished, Joan 
asked some one to look and see if the 
English were still facing them, or if 
they had turned their backs toward 
them. They had indeed turned their 



THIRD DAY 101 

backs toward the French, and the 
entire army was making off just as 
fast as it could go. Flames burst 
from the forts, which they set fire to 
as they passed. The French were 
eager to rush after the fast disappear- 
ing soldiers and destroy them, but 
Joan would not listen to it. She 
had no wish to kill them ; all she 
wanted was for them to go away, and 
surely they were obliging her by doing 
so in double-quick time." 

"He, he, ha, ha," laughed the chil- 
dren. 

"They found out that the country 
girl could do something besides tend- 
ing cows." 

"They did indeed, Harold, to their 
sorrow." 



102 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

" What do yon suppose frightened 
tliem so, Annt Kate? " 

'' I do not know, nnless they thought 
she was getting ready some sort of 
magic when she held that little ser- 
vice. Anyway they were gone. 

" The happy x3eople rushed here, 
there, and everywhere, scarcely know- 
ing what they were doing in their 
great excitement. They were saved ! 
saved at last ! Every bell in the city 
pealed forth its joyous tones. Flags 
waved from windows and housetops. 
It was a day of triumph for the true, 
courageous girl. But, nevertheless, 
she did not forget that thanks were 
due to her God for their deliverance. 
And she required that all should fol- 
low her to the cathedral and give 



THIRD DAY 103 

thanks and j^raise to her Heavenly 
Master. Soldiers and citizens formed 
a great procession and crowded into 
the cathedral. From there they 
marched all aronnd the city wall 
singing and rejoicing. In one short 
week their enemies had been de- 
stroyed or driven away and their fair 
city saved. And by a girl, too ! little 
more than seventeen years of age. 
It is no wonder that they fairly 
adored her." 

"Now you see, Harold/' cried Bes- 
sie, triumphantly, " a boy could not 
have done better than that ! " 

" You are right, Bess, and not half 
so well. Joan was certainly a won- 
derful girl," Harold replied. 

" From that famous victory, Joan 



104 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

lias been called ' The Maid of Or- 
leans.' 

" I think it is about time we had 
our luncheon, children. Bessie, you 
can spread the cloth, and then you 
and Marjorie set out the things. Har- 
old, you can go to the brook for another 
pitcher of fresh water." 

"I say, Aunt Kate, do you like 
roast corn?" asked Harold, with a 
little twinkle in his eye. 

" Indeed I do," I replied; " but what 
made you ask that question?" 

" Oh, because I have a little sur- 
prise for you and the girls. I just 
brought along some fine big ears, and 
I'm going over to that rock there and 
build a tire and roast them." 

"You have given us a splendid 



THIRD BAY 105 

surprise, my dear boy. So that ac- 
counts for some of those extra baskets, 
does it? " 

" I shouldn't wonder if it does," he 
answered, as he went off whistling a 
gay tune, with his basket on his arm. 

The girls went merrily to w^ork. 
They decorated our tablecloth with 
the pretty w^ild flowers and ferns they 
had gathered. 

" Just look here," exclaimed Bessie, 
in a surprised tone, ''cook has made us 
some lovely tarts, and she never said 
one word about them ; now wasn't she 
good?" 

" Let me see, Bessie," and Marjorie 
peeped into the basket and clapped 
her hands at sight of the unexpected 
dainties. 



106 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

We had to wait a little while for 
Harold to bring his corn, but were 
well repaid, for he proved to be an 
excellent cook. The corn was roasted 
skilfully and made a line addition 
to our feast. We were all pretty hun- 
gry and did full justice to all the 
goodies spread before us. After that 
came the clearing away. 

" Come, Marjorie, let us throw all 
these pieces and crumbs where the 
dear little birds and squirrels can get 
them," suggested Bessie, who loved 
the little dAvellers of the wood. 

" That is right, children," I said, 
" and then our little friends will wel- 
come us when we come again. I am 
glad we have some nuts for the 
squirrels." 



THIRD DAY 107 

We had been so happy and the 
time had passed so rapidly that I 
was astonished on looking at my 
watch to find it was nearly time for 
us to meet John. 

''Come, dearies," I said, "we shall 
have to hurry, for if we are not at 
the road when John comes, he will 
think something has happened to us 
and will be worried, and he could 
not leave his horses to look for 
us." 

We gathered up our rugs and bas- 
kets which were now filled with flow- 
ers and ferns, and set out toward 
home. We found John just driving 
up as we came out on the road. We 
had a jolly drive back. My small 
companions were happy and gay, and 



108 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

kept their eyes wide open for things 
of interest along the road. 

''I tell you what, Auntie," said 
Harold, "I think this has been the 
best day of all. Don't you think so, 
girls? " 

" Yes," they exclaimed at once, 
" it has been just perfectly lovely." 

" I am glad, dears, you have en- 
joyed it so much. It has been a 
very pleasant day to me also." 

'' I should think. Auntie, you'd be 
glad when we go home, we bother 
you so much." 

"No, indeed, dear Bessie," I made 
haste to reply, " I shall miss you all 
more than I can tell. Why, the big 
house seems so still and deserted 
after you all leave it, I hardly know 



THIRD BAY 109 

what to do witli myself. So you see 
you do not ' bother me ' one little bit, 
but it is a great pleasure to entertain 
you, dear children." 

Mary was on the piazza waiting to 
take charge of the children. Harold 
had the privilege of driving the horses 
around to the stable with John. I 
could hear Bessie and Marjorie chat- 
ting all the way upstairs, telling Mary 
all they had done that day. 



FOURTH DAY 

" A RE you going on with the rest 
-^-^ of the story to-day, Auntie ? " 
asked Bessie at the breakfast table 
the next day. 

" Yes, dear, I think I can finish it 
this morning," I replied. 

" Where shall we go this time ? " 

'' I thought we should all like, to 
go back to the summer-house. What 
do you think about it? " 

"It's a good place, Aunt Kate, for 
you began the story out there and it 
would be nice to end it there." 

" I like it, too," assented Marjorie. 

" Well, I will meet you down there 

110 



FOURTH DAY 111 

at ten o'clock/' I said; "that will 
give you time for a good play, and 
for me to write some letters." 

As I started across the lawn the 
children came out from the summer- 
house to meet me, but instead of com- 
ing with a bound as usual, they ap- 
proached in the most demure and 
dignified manner. I could not im- 
agine what had come over them. 
They stopped in front of me, and Har- 
old, with a sweeping bow, said : " We 
have come to escort the champion 
teller of stories to her bower. Will 
you graciously accept my arm ? " He 
offered his arm in truly gallant style, 
which I accepted in the same spirit. 

"The two attendants will please 
walk behind," he continued in a very 



112 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

grand tone of voice. I caught tlie 
sound of a giggle as tlie " attend- 
ants " dropped back of us. When our 
small procession entered the summer- 
house I was amazed and delighted. 
It looked as though some of the Dom- 
remy fairies had been at work there. 
"It is beautiful!" I cried. The 
chair Harold led me to was a bower 
fit for a fairy queen. They had 
manasied to make a frame of some 
kind high over the back of the chair, 
like a canopy, and this and the 
chair itself were twined with green 
branches and made bright with roses ; 
and from the number, I think my rose 
garden must have been left pretty 
bare. They had put cushions in the 
chair and a stool for my feet. Bright 



FOURTH BAY 113 

blossoms peeped here and there 
through the vines which covered the 
house. The table looked more like 
a .green mound than a table, so pret- 
tily had they covered it with green 
branches and garlands of flowers. 

''You dear children/' I said, "you 
have brought me to fairyland. How 
did you get so much done in such a 
short time? " 

" Tour humble subjects worked 
lively," answered Harold, with another 
bow. 

" Well, you have made an enchant- 
ing place for us to spend the morning 
in. I see you haye remembered to 
bring the Atlas, so if my subjects 
will kindly be seated I will proceed 
with my story. 



114 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

" Joan having kept her promise and 
saved Orleans, the next important 
move was to crown the Dauphin. 
She knew it ought to be done just as 
soon as possible. She did not want 
to give the English time to get over 
the effects of their great defeat, so the 
very next day she returned to the 
prince to talk over her plan to march 
on to Kheims. 

"My subjects have placed me so 
that I cannot very well help them 
with the map, but they will have no 
trouble, I think, in finding Kheims," 
I said. 

" That is very easy to find," said Bes- 
sie, and all looked where she pointed. 

" You see, children, it is quite a 
distance northeast from Orleans, and 




Capture of Orleans. — From ixtlntUig Jiy Lenepveu. 



FOURTH DAY 115 

still farther away from where the 
Dauphin was." 

" Why did he have to go to Kheims 
to be crowned, Aunt Kate?" Mar- 
jorie asked. 

"Because it was the custom for all 
French princes to go to that city for 
the coronation, which took place in 
a cathedral and was always attended 
by all the lords and bishops and grand 
ladies of the court. 

" The Dauphin came part way to 
meet Joan, and when he saw her he 
raised his hat to her as though she 
were a queen. As she knelt before 
him he raised her from the ground 
and spoke kind words to her. He 
was feeling very happy over her suc- 
cess, and wanted her to come to his 



116 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

court ; and lie would have showered 
all sorts of honors upon her. But 
that was not what she had come for. 
She told the Dauphin that now was 
the time to push right on to Rheims. 

" You would have supposed, chil- 
dren, that he would have been only 
too glad to have marched right away, 
but he hesitated." 

" Didn't he want to be a real king? '' 
Bessie asked, in surprise. 

" Oh, yes, he wanted his crown, 
but he did not care to go to any very 
great trouble to get it, or run the risk 
of any injury to himself in going 
after it." 

''Well, I think I'd just let him 
whistle for his crown, if I'd been 
Joan ! " And Harold looked as though 



FOURTH BAY 117 

the Daupliin would not have received 
much help from him. 

" But you must not forget, my dear 
boy, that there was a little foreign 
prince trying to get that very crown, 
and if Joan did not succeed very soon 
in placing it on the head of her own 
native prince, France would have an 
English king over her." 

" Yes, that makes a difference, of 
course." 

"The same followers who tried to 
keep Joan from coming to court in 
the first place, now urged the Dauphin 
not to leave. They reminded him of 
the great dangers of such a journey ; 
they were thinking of themselves too, 
I guess. Kheims was in the hands of 
the enemy, and while they had been 



118 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

driven away from Orleans, they were 
still strong in many other cities and 
towns in that part of the country the 
Dauphin would have to march through. 
The weak prince listened to his wicked 
and cowardly advisers and did not 
know what to do. Joan pleaded and 
begged him to come with her. She 
said she would surely take him in 
safety, and as he still hesitated, she 
told him that there was very little 
time left for her to help him in, as she 
would last only a year longer." 

" dear, dear, she isn't killed in 
any of the battles, is she?" asked 
Bessie, in a distressed tone. 

" I must not get ahead of my story, 
dear. She felt that something would 
happen to her before very long, and 



FOURTH DAT 119 

she was so eager to finish her great 
mission before it was too late. Even 
then the Dauphin would not say he 
would go. One day she threw her- 
self on her knees before him and 
begged him not to heed the bad advice 
of his followers, but to trust himself 
to her. Her heavenly voices were 
urging her to 'go on,' and she knew 
he would get through without harm. 
The Dauphin could not resist such 
earnestness, and at last agreed to go 
to Rheims. 

''But when the matter was talked 
over, it was thought best for Joan to 
go ahead and drive the English from 
that part of the country. She was 
willing, and hurried to get the army 
in shape again. Then she led it back 



120 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

to Orleans. She intended making 
tliat city her headquarters. The citi- 
zens were delighted to have her among 
them once more, and gave her a hearty 
welcome. When the campaign was 
all planned out, Joan at the head of 
her army again marched through the 
gates ; but this time to attack a city. 

'' Children, look along the river 
Loire southeast from Orleans and you 
will see Jargeau." 

" We have it. Auntie." 

" The English held that town and 
the French army went forth to take it 
from them. The English came out to 
meet them, and it seemed at one time 
as though the French would be driven 
back. But the brave girl leader seized 
her banner and rode to where the 



FOURTH BAY 121 

fighting was the hottest, and shouted 
to her men not to give way, but to 
press forward. Her fearlessness 
caused them to make a greater effort, 
and after a while the enemy was forced 
to retire within the city. Now a siege 
w^as planned. The French worked 
hard night and day, but before they 
had finished their arrangements for a 
siege, word came that the English 
general was on the way with more 
soldiers to help their comrades. Some 
of the French now became alarmed, 
and wanted to go back to Orleans. 
Joan reminded them that God was 
still with them and would help them 
now, the same as at Orleans. She 
kept them together and decided to 
begin an assault at once, before the 



122 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

reenforcements could get there. The 
English commander in Jargeau, seeing 
what was going on, asked for a truce 
for two weeks." 

" What did he mean by that, Aunt 
Kate?" 

" He meant, Marjorie, that Joan 
should stop all fighting for that 
time." 

" Yes, and then the other soldiers 
would have a chance to get there. I 
guess he didn't fool Joan." 

" No, Harold, he did not. She or- 
dered the trumpets to be sounded, 
and the troops came hurrying up from 
their different quarters. There was 
hard fighting on both sides. There 
was a ditch here the same as at 
Orleans which the French had to get 



FOURTH BAY 123 

over. They threw in broken ladders, 
pieces of wall, old fence rails, and 
anything they could get to help fill it 
in so they could cross easier. Their 
fearless commander was always in 
their midst, and if ever they felt like 
giving up, the sound of her strong 
voice saying encouraging words, and a 
sight of her sacred banner would give 
them heart again, and on they would 
go. 

" The assault had gone on for 
several hours when the English 
general asked to have a conference 
with Joan, that is, that they should 
talk it over, and try to come to some 
sort of terms about settling the matter 
without any more fighting. Joan had 
some time before offered to allow him 



124 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

to leave the town in safety if lie would 
surrender. Now she must have 
guessed that he only wanted to gain 
time, for she refused to meet him and 
ordered the assault to go on." 

'' She was smart there, Aunt Kate. 
Of course he would like to keep her 
talking until his friends came up." 

'' Joan knew that they must work 
hard and take the city quickly. With 
the banner in her hand, she leaped 
down in the ditch and mounted a 
scaling ladder, shouting to her men to 
follow her, but as she neared the top 
a great stone came down upon her 
and hurled her to the bottom ! " 

'' Oh ! I hope she was not killed." 
And sweet Marjorie's eyes filled with 
tears. 



FOURTH DAY 125 

'' No, dear, she was not killed, but 
when the English saw her fall they 
thought she was, and shouted for joy. 
Up she sprang in a moment, her great 
black eyes flashing in anger, and called 
upon her men to rush upon them. 
And rush they did, crowding up the 
sides of the ditch like wild men. 
Their attack on the English was so 
fierce and determined the city could 
hold out no longer, but was forced to 
surrender." 

"Goody, goody!" and the children 
clapped their hands over the fallen 
foe. 

'' Many of the garrison had been 
killed, and all the others were made 
prisoners. Another triumph for the 
Maid of Orleans. The next day Joan 



126 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

and her victorious army returned to 
Orleans. They were received with 
cheers and congratulations on their 
success. 

" After a few days' rest, the com- 
mand was given to ' forward march ! ' 
The next town they went to was poorly 
defended, and offered only a slight 
resistance before it surrendered. Had 
they held out a little while longer they 
would have had help, as two English 
generals were on their way to their 
relief ; but before they reached the 
town they heard of the surrender, so 
they marched away again toward the 
north. Joan followed after, hoping to 
overtake and destroy them. But she 
did not know just which way they 
had gone, and as the country was very 



FOURTH BAY 127 

wild and woody it was hard to march. 
Some of the French officers thought it 
was very foolish to try to find them, 
and advised going back." 

"It seems to me, Auntie, those 
officers were always wanting to go 
back ! " Harold exclaimed. '' I should 
think they would have made Joan 
angry." 

" It was hard work sometimes to 
keep them moving forward and not 
backward. She refused to listen to 
their foolish talk, however, and said 
if they would ride on, they would yet 
meet the enemy. Her ' voices ' would 
guide them right, she was sure. Turn- 
ing to one of her generals, she asked 
him if he had good spurs. Another, 
hearing the strange question, asked 



128 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

if she expected tliem to rim when they 
came up with the English. She an- 
swered them ' No,' but that the fight 
would go against the English, and 
they would need their spurs to pursue 
them as they ran away. All her brave 
talk did not make her captains feel 
sure of the wisdom of advancing when 
they could not tell where they might 
find the enemy. They had taken 
strong towns under Joan's leadership, 
but it was quite a different matter to 
meet an enemy in an open field. Joan 
knew how they felt, and she was anx- 
ious and excited. She told them they 
must fight, and even if the English 
were ' hung to the clouds, they must 
have them.' The timid ones were 
overruled, and the army continued its 



FOURTH DAY 129 

search. Tliey finally, upon tlie edge 
of a wood, came upon the enemy they 
were looking for. The advance guard 
of the French began a fierce attack on 
the English rear, and put it to flight. 
Joan now came up with the main 
body of her troops, and a pitched bat- 
tle followed. She was glorious ! 

" Although this was a new kind of 
warfare to her, she kept right near her 
soldiers wherever the hardest work 
was to be done. The English held 
their ground stubbornly and well, but 
the French were gaining on them. 
The English army was in two divis- 
ions. The leader of one division 
withdrew his troops to go to the aid 
of the other division, which was being 
hard pressed. But the poor fellows 



130 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

whom he wanted to help did not un- 
derstand the move and thought it was 
a retreat. They became frightened 
and off they scampered, and the French 
after them. Surely, they did need 
their good spurs. One of the English 
generals was taken prisoner, and 
nearly the entire army was destroyed 
or captured. It was the first pitched 
battle the French had won in eight 
years, and of course there was great 
rejoicing, especially as their own 
loss was very small. But the excited 
victors committed many acts of cru- 
elty. Joan was grieved and indig- 
nant. She saw one of her men strike 
down a wounded prisoner; She in- 
stantly sprang from her horse, and 
lifted the poor fellow's head, and com- 



FOURTH BAY 131 

forted him until lie died. She was 
just the tender-hearted girl again as 
she always was after the frightful bat- 
tles were over." 

'' Don't you believe that made the 
people love her all the more ? " 

" I certainly do, Bessie, and it 
makes us who read her history, so 
many years after all those sad days, 
love and respect her too. 

" Joan now returned to Orleans to 
review her troops and to meet the 
Dauphin, whom she expected to find 
there. The inhabitants had made 
great preparations to give him a royal 
welcome, but he disappointed them 
all. Again he had listened to the coun- 
sels of his favorite courtiers and re- 
mained away." 



132 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

" Why, Aunt Kate, I think lie was 
crazy like his father." 

" He could hardly be called crazy, 
Harold, but weak and ease-loving he 
certainly was, and readily followed 
the advice of those who pleased and 
flattered him. The man who was his 
favorite at this time was altogether 
dishonorable and selfish. He looked 
out entirely for his own interests, and 
would try to keep the Dauphin from 
doing anything which might interfere 
with his plans." 

" I suppose all the people heard 
about what had happened to the Eng- 
lish?" 

" Oh, yes, Bessie ; the news soon 
spread all over the country, and caused 
many of the French who had gone 



FOURTH DAT 133 

over to the English to come back to 
tlieir lawful king ; and made the Eng- 
lish tremble and fear Joan, or the 
' witch ' as they called her, more and 
more." 

" I wonder what her father and 
mother thought now?" asked Marjorie. 

"I think, my dear, they must have 
felt very proud of her ; and of course 
they understood her better now than 
they did when she first astonished 
them by her strange story." 

''I guess her father was glad he 
didn't drown her." 

'' Indeed, he must have been, Mar- 
jorie. Her two brothers were with 
the army now, so she must have been 
happy to hear news from home." 

'' How wonderful it all must have 



134 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

seemed to lier brothers to see their 
own sister on a great war horse and 
ordering her army about. Oh ! I just 
think it was grand.'' Bessie's eyes 
sparkled as she spoke. 

" No one doubted the young girl 
now. She had proved herself a great 
leader, and even some of her old offi- 
cers, who had sometimes been afraid 
to follow her advice, felt confidence in 
her wisdom. The public enthusiasm 
was great, — recruits kept coming in, 
and the army grew very large. Again 
Joan went to the Dauphin to plead 
with him to come with her to Eheims 
and receive his crown ; and again he 
hesitated." 

" Why, what excuse could he make 
now? " asked Harold. 



FOURTH BAY 135 

" Well, lie thouglit it would be bet- 
ter to wait a little while longer; lie 
was not quite ready to go yet. Joan 
knew well liow dangerous it was to 
wait. At any time the little English 
prince might be crowned instead of 
the Dauphin. The poor tired girl was 
so disappointed that she broke down 
and cried. 

" At last the Dauphin yielded, and 
promised he would go. Joan got her 
army in marching order in pretty 
quick time." 

" I guess she hurried up so the 
Dauphin couldn't change his mind." 

" Yery likely, Marjorie. She sent 
letters off to the citizens of several 
towns inviting them to come to the 
coronation ; and yet the Dauphin de- 



136 STORY OF JOAN OF ARQ 

layed the start. More councils were 
held and some advised waiting until 
Joan had destroyed all the towns and 
forts still in the hands of the enemy, 
while others agreed with Joan that 
they would better march right off." 

" Do you know, Aunt Kate, I don't 
see how Joan kept her temper, king 
or no king." 

"Well, Harold, she did begin to 
show impatience. She left the town 
with most of her troops, and encamped 
in the fields at some distance off. I 
think that helped to stir these slow 
courtiers up, for the Dauphin at last 
joined his army and set off for 
Eheims." 

"If I'd been Joan I would have 
kept pretty close to him, so he 



r 



^«f' 




Victorious return of Joan of Arc to Orleans. — Ftodi 
painting by Scherrer. 



FOURTH BAY 137 

couldn't run away." Bessie was in 
earnest, but we had to laugh. 

" Some of the smaller towns they 
came to on their march opened their 
gates at once to them, but when they 
reached Troyes and demanded that 
city to receive its lawful king, the 
people refused. 

" Children, look east from Orleans, 
a little south, and you will come to 
Troyes. You will notice it is not as 
far south as Jargeau. 

" The army was now moving north- 
ward. Troyes had quite a strong force 
to defend it, and they decided to re- 
sist the French. They wrote to other 
cities having English soldiers and 
asked for reenf orcements. They called 
Joan a witch in their letters, and said 



138 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

they would fight her hard. When the 
one they named ' Witch ' came before 
their walls they bravely met her, but 
were soon driven back into the city. 
As long as they would not stay out 
and fight, Joan ordered a siege of the 
town. The army was not very well 
provided with the necessary tools, but 
they did the best they could and 
stationed themselves around the city, 
and hoped to make the people sur- 
render. But after a few days, food for 
the army grew scarce, and as there 
were no signs of the garrison in 
Troyes giving up, some of the captains 
thought it best to stop the siege and 
go away. They knew very well that 
Joan would never consent to that, so 
they and the Dauphin held a secret 



FOURTH BAY 139 

meeting to talk it over. Joan heard 
of it, and went straight to them and 
asked to be admitted. They had to 
tell her now that they were planning 
to retire. She looked at the Dauphin 
and asked him very earnestly if he 
would believe her. He replied that 
he would be glad to believe her. Then 
she told him that if he would stay be- 
fore Troyes for three days longer, the 
city would be his. One of the com- 
pany said they would be willing to 
stay for six days, if they could only 
feel sure. She told them to have no 
doubts, for if they would all work, they 
should have the city the very next 
day. The meeting had taken place 
in the evening. When Joan left she 
asked all the officers to follow her. 



140 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

She mounted her horse and went right 
to work to get things ready for the 
assault." 

"What! at night-time?" asked 
Bessie, in surprise. 

"Yes, there was no time to lose, 
and much of Joan's success came, I 
think, from her acting quickly. The 
soldiers went to work with a good 
will. They gathered up everything 
they could find to help fill in the 
ditch, and dragged the cannon in to 
the best positions, and were as busy 
as could be nearly all night. Joan 
went about from place to place, giving 
orders and directing the work." 

"Could the people inside the city 
see what they were doing?" 

" Yes, indeed, they could, and were 



FOURTH DAY 141 

in the greatest excitement over it. I 
do not believe many slept in the city 
that night, knowing what was before 
them. 

'' Very early the next morning she 
drew her army up to begin the assault, 
but as she was about to give the sig- 
nal, behold ! the gate of the city 
opened, and out came the bishop, 
some of the officers, and several citi- 
zens. They asked to see the Dauphin. 
He received them kindly, and was 
glad to hear that they had come to 
surrender the town. The Dauphin 
agreed to allow the garrison to march 
away, and to take their property with 
them." 

"Well, that was an easy victory, I 
must say ! " exclaimed Harold. 



142 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

" Yes, it was, so far as not liaviDg 
to fight for it, but it was gained by 
the wisdom and quick action of the 
girl leader." 

" She always knew what to do, 
didn't she. Auntie?" 

" Joan had a wonderful way of 
doing things, Bessie, and if her wise 
counsel had been heeded oftener I 
think all would have been much bet- 
ter off. 

" When the English were marching 
out of Troyes, Joan noticed that they 
were taking some poor French prison- 
ers with them. She stopped them 
and demanded the release of the 
Frenchmen. But the soldiers said 
the prisoners were their property, 
and the Dauphin had given them 



FOURTH DAY 143 

permission to take their property 
away. But Joan insisted on tlieir 
leaving the prisoners, so the Dau- 
phin paid the soldiers a small sum 
of money or ransom, as it is called, 
and the poor fellows were saved. 

'' The next day the Dauphin left 
Troyes, with Joan in full armor rid- 
ing at the head of his big and happy 
army. The citizens of the next town 
they came to were wise enough to 
meet them and bid them welcome. 
Here Joan met some of her old 
friends from Domremy. How good 
it must have seemed to her to see 
familiar faces from her own home 
once more ! But it was all so 
strange to the plain country people 
to see the young peasant girl they 



144 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

had known so well in Domremy, and 
had so often seen out in the fields 
caring for her father's sheep, and 
making herself busy about her sim- 
ple country home, — now a com- 
mander of a king's army, and going 
among princes and all the grand 
nobles of the court. Her friends 
asked her if she did not sometimes 
feel afraid. She replied that the 
only fear she felt was of treachery. 
" The last part of their long march 
to Rheims was now begun. The 
Dauphin sent messengers on ahead 
with letters, bidding the people to 
yield to him, and promising to treat 
them kindly. At the same time the 
English leaders wrote to them beg- 
ging them not to open their gates to 



FOURTH BAY 145 

the Daupliin, and promising to send 
more soldiers to help them. While 
they were thinking which wonld be 
best to do, word was bronght to them 
that Charles, with Joan and a great 
army, was nearing the city." 

" I gness that settled it, didn't it, 
Auntie? " 

" Yes, Harold, they sent a commit- 
tee ont to meet them, and to offer 
obedience to their prince. The Dau- 
phin, followed by his court, entered 
the city his faithful young leader had 
been trying for so long to reach." 

'' I guess she felt very happy now." 

'' There can be no doubt of it. 
Nevertheless, she did not waste a 
moment in thinking about it, but 
began at once to make preparations 



146 STORY OF JOAN OF ARQ 

for the coronation which she had de- 
termined should take place the very 
next day. Everybody was up and 
busy early the next morning, for it 
was to be a great day. The town 
was gay with flags and streamers in 
honor of the royal visitor, so soon to 
be made a very king indeed. At 
the appointed time a great proces- 
sion moved through the streets of 
Kheims toward the cathedral. With 
the Dauphin were princes, knights, 
and noble ladies of his court, all 
gorgeously attired, and greatest of 
all, his wonderful girl leader, trium- 
phantly happy, carrying her sacred 
banner, — behind her the army. The 
citizens, all decked out in bright holi- 
day clothes, joined in line. When 




Coronation of Charles VII. at Rheims. — From painting 
by Lenepveu. 



FOURTH DAY 147 

they reached the cathedral where the 
bishop and priests awaited them, the 
Dauphin took his place at the foot of 
the altar, and there right beside him 
stood Joan ; in her hand she held the 
banner she loved so well, and which 
had been with her through all the 
storms of battle." 

" How proud she must have felt. 
Auntie ! " 

''Yes, dear, she had every reason 
to feel proud and happy, for at last 
her great mission was about finished. 
She had kept every promise and was 
going to give France a king. The 
ceremony was a long and impressive 
one. The bishop anointed Charles 
with holy oil which was kept for such 
occasions. Prayers were said and the 



148 STORY OF JOAN OF ABC 

hard-won crown was placed upon his 
head. He was now Charles YII, 
king of France. Joan threw herself 
on her knees before him with tears 
of joy streaming down her face. All 
eyes in that great cathedral were 
npon the young girl, and many shed 
tears through sympathy." 

"Now I hope he will be a true king." 
"You must not expect too much, 
my dear boy. Just a crown would 
not change him, you know. 

" Charles raised Joan to her feet, 
and in his gratitude told her to ask 
of him anything she wished, and in- 
deed nothing she could ask would be 
too much, for he owed his kingdom 
to her. Now, Bessie, what would you 
have asked for? " 



FOURTH BAY 149 

" Let me see. I think I would have 
liked a castle to live in — a big one 
so that mamma and papa and you, 
Auntie, and all the rest could come 
too. Then I would want horses and 
carriages, and — oh, yes, a diamond 
necklace. I'd just love to have a 
diamond necklace ! " 

" Nothing mean about you, Bess," 
said Harold, laughing. 

" You, Harold, would want some- 
thing a girl would not think of, I am 
sure, so I will pass you by and Mar- 
jorie can tell us what she would have 
asked for." 

'' I would just say. Please, King 
Charles, let me go home to my 
mamma right away, for I never, 
never want to fight again." 



150 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

All lauglied at the dear cliild's sim- 
ple request. 

"Well, Marjorie," I replied, "that 
was exactly what poor, tired Joan de- 
sired. She did not care for the king's 
presents, but wanted permission to 
leave the army and return to Dom- 
remy. She had finished the work 
the heavenly voices had set her to 
do, and would be so glad to go back 
to her parents and take up her old life 
again." 

"I suppose the king let her go." 

" No, Bessie, he refused to part 
with her just yet. There was still 
more fighting to be done, and he was 
afraid if Joan was not with the sol- 
diers they would lose their courage 
and would fail. The faithful girl 



FOURTH DAY 151 

would not disobey lier king, so slie 
remained. A great pleasure awaited 
her. She saw her father and good 
Uncle Laxart after the ceremony. 
They had been in the cathedral and 
had seen her in her triumph. It must 
have seemed like a dream to the 
father to see his daughter, who had 
been brought up and lived like the 
other maidens of the village a quiet 
country life, now standing before that 
vast crowd at the side of Charles, 
king of France. The town showed 
every respect and attention to her 
relatives ; it paid all their expenses, 
and when her father started for home 
a horse was j^resented to him. 

" After the coronation the king 
rewarded his followers in different 



152 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

ways. He had a medal made for 
Joan, with her face on one side, and 
on the other a hand bearing a sword. 
She had one little favor to ask, and 
that was that her native village, and 
another one near by, might be freed 
from paying any more taxes. The 
king granted it at once, and for about 
three hundred years afterward the 
people of those two villages were not 
asked for any money for the govern- 
ment. 

" Joan now wanted to advance on 
Paris." 

"We know where to find that city, 
Auntie." 

''Yes, being the capital, you will 
have no difficulty." 

" pshaw! here comes Mary again, 



FOURTH DAY 153 

Aunt Kate, and you liave not finished 
yet." 

Bessie was right. The maid was 
coming toward us. 

"It must be hmch time," I said. 
I looked at my watch and found it 
was. " Why, yes, children, it is time 
we were going up to the house." 

" What shall we do. Auntie ? " asked 
Bessie. " You know mamma is com- 
ing to-morrow, and we must hear the 
rest of the story. " 

''We can come back here after 
luncheon if you would like to, and I 
will finish it then. I thought I would 
reach the end this morning." 

'' You dear, good Auntie, that will 
be just the thing," and Bessie threw 
her arms about me and gave me a hug. 



154 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

^' Come on, girls, I'll race you up to 
the house," Harold called. 

They took his challenge and off 
they flew as though they had wings 
on their feet. 



FOURTH T>KY— Continued 



XyON'T 

» » m CI in 



we have lots to tell 
mamma wlien she comes?" 
And Marjorie's eyes sparkled at the 
prospect of seeing her dear mamma 
so soon. 

" She will be delighted to find her 
little girl so fat and rosy," I said, as 
I gave the bright round cheek a pinch. 

" I can hardly wait until to-mor- 
row," Bessie said. "We will all go 
down to the train to meet mamma, 
won't we. Auntie? " 

"Yes indeed, dear," I replied. 
"We must all be there to give her a 
jolly welcome." 

155 



156 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

So we chatted through the luncheon, 
and afterward we walked around the 
garden a little and returned to our 
places in the summer-house, and I 
went on with my story. 

" It seems to me that had the 
French marched boldly on to Paris 
right after the coronation, they could 
have taken the city with very little 
trouble. But no, there were more 
delays, and of course the longer the 
attack was put off, why, the better it 
was for the English. It would give 
them a chance to bring over more 
soldiers from home, and the army 
would recover in a measure from its 
fright caused by its many disasters, 
and the great disappointment all felt 
at not being able to prevent the crown- 
ing of Charles." 



FOURTH BAY 157 

" What did they wait for, Auntie? " 
" Well, the king had an idea that 
he might be able to get them to give 
the city up without fighting if he 
offered certain inducements, so he 
sent a letter to one of the leaders 
offering to make good terms if he 
would get the others to agree to open 
the gates of Paris to its lawful king. 
But all the good that the plan did 
was to delay an attack and give the 
English an opportunity to strengthen 
their positions, which you may be sure 
they did. While Charles was waiting 
for an answer to his proposal, he went 
about visiting different towns and 
villages. Everywhere they went the 
13eople gave their king and the maid 
an enthusiastic welcome. They let 



158 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

down the drawbridges and gladly 
opened the gates to the royal visit- 
ors. All looked bright and hopeful 
for the newly crowned king. But 
then, there was Paris, the stronghold 
of the enemy, still unconquered! 
That fact did not seem to trouble the 
easy-going monarch very much, but 
it made Joan feel very anxious. She 
knew very well the importance of 
bringing that city back to the king. 
While on this pleasant visiting tour, 
the long-looked-for answer to Charles' 
letter was received." 

" I guess those English generals 
were not going to give up quite so 
easy." 

" You are right, Bessie. The answer 
they sent was so defiant and insulting 



FOURTH DAY 159 

it made King Charles very angry, and 
he knew that there was nothing to do 
but to fight. So the army was turned 
toward Paris." 

" I think Joan must have been glad 
to get to work again." 

" She was, indeed, for Paris must 
be taken or the good work would not 
be finished. 

" It was a march of triumph for the 
wonderful girl. The country people 
flocked to look at her. They wanted 
to see Charles too, but Joan had the 
first place in their hearts. She had 
won the love of her countrymen every- 
where. They sang pretty songs about 
her, and had little images made of her 
and put up in their churches. Medals 
were made in her honor and worn by 



160 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

tlie grateful people. She could not 
move sometimes on tlie road for the 
crowds pushing and trying to get near 
enough to kiss her hands and feet, as 
was done at Orleans. Some of those 
in high circles were jealous of all these 
honors showered so freely on the 
young girl. 

" Of course they found the English 
expecting them, and quite prepared to 
resist them. They were strongly in- 
trenched outside the city, but as the 
French army approached, they made 
no effort to prevent their coming. 
Their scheme was to stay in their 
strong positions, and force Joan to be- 
gin an attack on them ; but she felt 
she was not strong enough, and was 
too good a soldier to risk too much. 



FOURTH BAY 161 

So she tried in many ways to induce 
them to come out and figlit. Once she 
rode right up to their intrenchments 
and challenged them, but it was of no 
use ; they would not take the chal- 
lenge. Then again she pretended to 
be retreating, as though she had given 
up, and hoped the English would be 
deceived and would pursue them. But 
the wily old English general was not 
going to be caught in any such trap, 
so that plan failed also. While they 
were trying to think of some other 
way to bring them out, the English 
retired inside the city. The citizens 
of Paris were in a great state of excite- 
ment and fear. The English had been 
busy for a long time frightening them 
with all sorts of false stories. They 



162 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

made the people believe that, once 
King Charles entered the city, he 
would destroy them all because they 
had been false to him ; and they told 
them Joan was a very wicked witch 
who ought to be burned ; and that it 
was all untrue — the stories they had 
heard about saints and angels helping 
her ; that her help only came from 
evil spirits, and if they let her come 
in she would do all kinds of dreadful 
things." 

" What a shame that was, when she 
was so good to everybody ! " said 
Bessie. 

"I can see, though, why they did 
that. They wanted to make the 
people afraid, so they would help 
fight." 



FOURTH BAY 163 

" That is just it, Harold, and the 
citizens of Paris were ready to resist 
their own king to the utmost; even 
the women were eager to helj). The 
French army withdrew, and a council 
was held. Should they attempt to 
carry the city by an assault or not? 
Joan said yes, the king no." 

"Do you know. Aunt Kate, what I 
would have done ? " 

" Let us hear, Harold." 

"Why, I would just have taken the 
troops and gone off to Paris without 
asking the king any more." 

" Well, Joan felt she must act inde- 
pendently if she were ever to get into 
Paris, so she suggested to one of her 
most trusted generals that they should 
advance and make an attack on the 



164 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

city. It was a bold move, but the 
general was as anxious as she was to 
go forward. They got their forces 
together, and marched toward Paris 
once more. Joan thought it would 
help them to have the king with them, 
and sent messengers back to ask him 
to join them ; but he refused. After 
awhile, however, he consented to come 
as far as St. Denis, which was near 
Paris, but refused to go any farther. 

" Paris was guarded by two great 
ditches. Joan and her brave fol- 
lowers succeeded in getting through 
the first one, but found the second one 
filled with water. What was to be 
done now? They might all be 
drowned if they attempted to cross ! 
Joan, perfectly fearless, stood on the 



FOURTH DAY 165 

ridge of ground wliicli separated the 
two ditches, and called for a lance. 
She seemed to be unconscious of the 
arrows and stones which were being 
showered down upon them from the 
city walls. She put the lance down 
into the water to see how deep it was. 
It was far too deep for them to think 
of crossing, so she ordered the soldiers 
to throw in the fagots and fence rails, 
and all the-odds and ends which had 
been brought in wagon loads for that 
very purpose. There the brave girl 
stood directing her men and urging 
them to make haste, when a cruel 
arrow struck her, and she fell to the 
ground badly wounded. Another one 
at the same time struck her standard- 
bearer, killing him at her side. She 



166 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

lay there on the ground and, notwith- 
standing the intense pain she was 
suffering, spoke words of cheer and 
encouragement to her men, telling 
them to keep right on, to push ahead, 
and victory would be their reward. 
They fought long and well, but the 
task was a hard one and seemed 
almost too much for them. At last 
one of the weak-hearted officers came 
to Joan and told her it was of no use 
to continue the fight, as they were 
making no headway, and he thought 
they might as well give it up." 

" It was too bad she was wounded. 
I know if she had been up with the sol- 
diers they would not have given up." 

"The poor girl implored him not 
to despair, that they must take the 



FOURTH BAY 167 

city. He refused to go on, and said 
he would order a retreat. She fairly 
begged him not to, and said surely in 
a little while the tide would turn and 
victory be theirs. But he would not 
listen to her, and soon the trumpets 
sounded for the retreat. Joan was al- 
most beside herself; she frantically 
clung to the ground and declared she 
would not go ! But what could the 
poor child do ? She was wounded 
and helpless. They lifted her up 
and carried her away with them, and 
she kept saying : ' It could have been 
taken ! It could have been taken ! ' " 

"But why did she let the general 
order a retreat? Wasn't she at the 
head of the army? " 

" Her position was very different 



168 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

now, Harold, since Charles joined liis 
troops. She did not have the same 
control and, as I have told you, there 
were many who were so jealous of 
her they would gladly prevent her 
from winning any more glory. Her 
wounds were dressed that night, and 
the next morning she was able to be 
about. She set right to work to plan 
another attempt to capture Paris." 

" I tell you what, if the king and 
his generals had been like Joan there 
would not have been much left of 
the English ! " exclaimed Harold, ex- 
citedly. 

"Well, she talked the matter over 
with the general who so willingly 
helped her before, and it was decided 
to make the attack on an entirely 



FOURTH BAT 169 

different part of the city ; but in order 
to do this tliey would have to cross 
the river Seine. 

" You see, children, Paris is on 
that river. 

" That fact did not trouble them 
very much, for this same general had 
a short time before constructed a 
bridge where they would want to 
cross. Bravely and hopefully the 
army was again led forth. What do 
you suppose happened now? " 

" Perhaps the king had Joan ar- 
rested for going without his consent," 
suggested Harold. 

"No, not that; but when they 
reached the place where they ex- 
pected to find the bridge, behold! 
there was no bridge there ! " 



170 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

" Why, where did it go to ? " 

" I suppose tlie English came out 
and broke it down." 

^' You would never guess, my dears, 
but it is said that King Charles 
ordered the bridge destroyed," 

" Well, well," said Bessie, " I just 
wish he would go back to Chinon 
and let Joan alone." 

"He did go back to Chinon, but he 
took Joan with him. She did all she 
could to prevail upon him to remain 
where he was, for of course it would 
show great weakness to go away be- 
fore the enemy was fully destroyed ; 
and besides, he would leave all that 
part of the country open to them 
again. But her pleading was of no 
avail ; go he would. He was tired 



FOURTH DAY 171 

of army life and wanted to get back 
to tlie comforts and iDleasures of his 
court. Joan made another appeal to 
be allowed to go home. So long as 
he would no longer carry on the cam- 
paign against his foe, why she thought 
she might as well retire from the 
army. And oh ! how much misery 
and suffering the poor, loyal girl 
would have been saved had she been 
allowed to return to Domremy ! " 

" Then something does happen to 
her, after all? " said Bessie, anxiously. 

''Yes, dear, her greatest trials 
were yet to come. The ease-loving 
monarch made double-quick time 
in getting back to his safe retreat. 
Naturally the army was disheartened, 
and many of Joan's brave and faith- 



1T2 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

fill followers left it and scattered 
through the country." 

" I tell you what, Aunt Kate, that 
King Charles just makes me mad!" 
and Harold's expression was indeed 
wrathful. 

"It makes me feel indignant, too, 
Harold, every time I think of it. 
There was no excuse whatever for 
his going away. He ran the risk of 
losing all that Joan had so magnifi- 
cently won for him. He kept her at 
court nearly all that winter idle. I 
suppose she would have enjoyed the 
gay life, as any young girl might, if 
she had not felt so anxious about 
the country. Again and again she 
asked permission to carry on the war, 
but all sorts of excuses were made. 



FOURTH BAY 173 

And all this time those towns which 
had opened their gates to Charles 
were suffering from the hands of the 
English again. They were severely 
punished for their loyalty to the king. 
Demands were constantly coming to 
the court for help. Even Rheims, 
where Charles was crowned, was in 
great danger, and the citizens wrote 
to Joan and begged her to come to 
their relief. But what could she do ? 
She had no army now to bring to 
them. Their distress weighed heavily 
on her heart, and one day she started 
off with a few trusted followers and 
never returned.'' 

" dear, I suppose now you are 
going to say she was killed ! " 

" No, dearie, she seemed to bear a 



174 STORY OF JOAN OF ABC 

cliarmed life in battle. With her 
little band she journeyed northward 
toward Paris once more, giving a help- 
ing hand w^herever she could. On 
one of her marches she heard that 
Compiegne was threatened ; instantly 
turning about, she hurried to give 
what aid she could. 

"Look, children, north from Paris, 
and a little toward the east, and you 
will find Compiegne. 

" The English were getting ready 
for a siege. The people were in ter- 
ror. The Maid reached the city very 
early in the morning and set right to 
work to prepare to drive the dreaded 
foe away. As soon as they had Joan 
with them, the people felt more cour- 
age and put themselves under her 



FOURTH DAY 175 

leadership. But slie did not have a 
great army at her command now, so 
she could not feel so sure of success. 
She was just as courageous and eager, 
however, and worked hard to get her 
little force in shape for an attack. 

"Late in the afternoon she led it 
out and made a bold charge on the 
enemy and drove them far back. The 
English sent off in hot haste for reen- 
forcements; Joan now had but a 
handful compared to their number, 
but they fought on bravely. Sud- 
denly the French saw that they were 
in danger of being surrounded and 
cut off from the city. In a minute 
the poor fellows were in a panic, and 
off they rushed across the bridge which 
led to the gate, crowding and push- 



176 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

ing to get in. The heroic girl tried 
her best to rally them, but it was of 
no use ; they could think of nothing 
but of saving themselves. And now 
our heroine showed the most surpris- 
ing amount of courage and generos- 
ity. When she found she could no 
longer hold them, she turned, and 
with the rear guard tried to beat back 
the crowding enemy so that her men 
might get in through the gate. In 
that struggling mass of French and 
English, for they were so mixed one 
could scarcely tell friend from foe, she 
fought her way to the city gate, but 
alas ! only to find it closed ! " 

" Oh, Auntie, you don't mean that 
she was left outside ! " exclaimed Bes- 
sie, with a look of horror on her face. 



FOURTH BAY 177 

" It was only too true. The gate 
was shut tight and she was helpless, 
surrounded by her bitter enemies, 
who hated her. She did not yield 
without a struggle, but while resist- 
ing those in front, a man got behind 
her and dragged her from her horse, 
and carried her away a prisoner." 

" How dreadful to be captured," 
sighed dear little Marjorie, her eyes 
moist with tears ready to fall. 

"Yes, dearie, it was, and the sad- 
dest chapter of Joan's history begins 
right here." 

'' Yon don't think anybody shut 
the gate on purpose, do you. Auntie? " 
asked Bessie. 

" It looks like it to me," Harold 
quickly rejoined. 



178 STORY OF JOAN OF ABO 

'' I can hardly believe it possible, 
children, that there could have been 
found a person in the city wicked 
enough to have done such a cruel, 
cruel act. But still, Joan had ene- 
mies, even among her own people, so 
we cannot be sure just how it hap- 
pened. And the man who captured 
her was a Frenchman ! — one of those 
who had joined with the English 
against the king. 

" She was treated kindly at first, 
though guarded closely so as to pre- 
vent an escape. But she was not 
going to be kept a prisoner if she 
could find any way of getting out. 
Once she managed to lock her jailers 
in a room, and tried to get through a 
place she had broken in the wall, but 



FOURTH BAY 179 

was discovered and taken back. They 
tlien confined her in a high tower, but 
there again she made another bold 
effort to escape. She knotted strips 
of cloth together and made a long 
line ; this she put out of the window 
with one end fastened to something 
in the room. Just think, she was 
sixty feet from the ground ! But she 
could not stop to think of the dizzy 
height nor dare to look on the cold 
stones below. There was no other 
chance but through that window. 
In desperation she crawled out and 
started down the slender line ! It 
was not strong enough to hold her 
weight, but soon broke, and down 
she fell on the pavement below with 
a crash ! " 



180 STORY OF JOAN OF ARQ 

" my ! how dreadful ! " 

''Did it kill her?" 

"No; when the guards rushed out 
to her they thought she was dead, but 
she was only unconscious when they 
picked her up. Strange to say, she 
was not seriously injured." 

"Poor, poor Joan!" said Bessie, 
with a sigh of sympathy. 

" The English were determined to 
get her in their own power, so they 
offered a large sum of money to her 
captors, which was accepted. She 
was deliberately sold ^ to her deadly 
enemy." 

"But of course the king will bring 
a big army and break down the prison 
and take her away," exclaimed Bessie, 
hopefully. 



FOURTH DAY 181 

'' King Charles never made the 
slightest attempt to rescue her ; he 
did not even take the trouble to send 
her a kind message. Not one word 
did she ever hear from the prince to 
whom she had given a kingdom." 

" Why, Auntie, I don't see how he 
could have been happy one minute 
while she was in such dreadful 
trouble." 

" Nor I, Bessie. I do not like to 
think that any one could be guilty of 
such ingratitude. The English took 
good care she should not escape from 
them. They put her in an iron cage, 
and chained her to it just as though 
she were some wild animal. The poor, 
friendless girl was entirely at their 
mercy. She had no one to comfort or 



182 STORY OF JOAN OF ARC 

advise her. Her cruel captors plotted 
and planned how they could destroy 
her. They did not want to kill her 
outright, for the people might then 
feel sorry for her, and turn against her 
murderers ; so they fixed up a scheme 
to try to prove to all that she never 
had any visits from saints or talks 
with angels, but that her power had 
all come from some magic art, and if 
they could prove that, why, no one 
would object to her death. Those in 
control held what they called a trial, 
but which was altogether unfair and 
unjust. They tortured the poor, 
weary girl with all sorts of foolish 
questions, hoping to make her say 
something which would sound wicked, 
and then they could say to the people. 



FOURTH DAY 183 

' See, we were right; she is a witch/ 
and then they could condemn her to 
be burned." 

" No, no, Auntie, they would not do 
such a wicked, cruel thing as that! " 
the children cried in alarm. 

" Yes, my dears, in those days when 
a person was suspected of using some 
magic power to injure others, their 
punishment was burning, and if the 
people could be made to believe that 
Joan was guilty of doing so, no one 
would object to her suffering that 
cruel death. 

"It is far too sad a chapter to dwell 
upon, my dear children. The schem- 
ing judges made it appear as though 
Joan was a very wicked young person, 
but of course every word was false, 



184 STORY OF JOAN OF ARO 

and they condemned the innocent girl 
to be burned at the stake ! 

" Joan went bravely to her cruel 
fate, and with her sad eyes fixed on 
the cross a kind priest held before 
her, and murmuring a prayer, her 
spirit went to dwell with the God 
she worshipped and with her be- 
loved saints." 

Aunt Kate. 







o^^\!I.'."V^^°^ x>' 




